Battle for the Human World
by QueenyProductions
Summary: Serena Usagi is back, but unfortunately so are the Six Dragons. With the help of a new leader they set about extracting their revenge against Serena and plan on taking over the Digital World, but not before destroying the Human World.
1. Hello

**Love Comes in Funny Packages 2: Battle for the Human World **

**Episode 1 **

**Hello**

_Hello? Hello? Serena calling the Digital World... come in! Are our cords connected properly? Looks like my world is rotating properly. _**All systems green. Communication: Failed.**  
_We're all connected to one another by countless cords, like patients in the I.C.U. We try hard not to let our cords get severed, but the truth is, no matter how hard you try, they get cut... and its very hard to reconnect them the way they were. I still can't do it, try as I might._

...

_The Digital World, 6 Months Later_

The two Digimon bolted through the dark forest, jumping over turned trees and stepping through puddles. The two dragon type Digimon followed them with ease, weaving through the thick trees easily as they travelled at a speed faster than any human made bullet. The blue Digimon in bright gold armour turned to face the enemy, his companion continued to run. With a fist of bright gold electricity running up his arms and gathering in his fist, Magnamon jumped into the air and slammed his sparking fist into Goldramon's gut.

The dragon Digimon let out a cry as he fell to the ground, landing awkwardly into a deep crater. Strikedramon threw a glance at her ally, he was injured, but would be fine. Goldramon was a mega after all, Magnamon was no match for a Digimon as powerful as him. Goldramon quickly got up and lifted his left hand, a red creature with yellow eyes made from electricty ran off his fist and chased after Dorumon.

Dorumon saw _Kouen no Amon _on her tail, she took a hard left and crashed to the ground, smashing her head against a rock and _Amon_ vanished into the air when it realized it wasn't needed to defeat a rookie. Strikedramon came at Magnamon, swinging her right foot. Magnamon grabbed her leg and threw her to Goldramon, he swore silently and they fell to the floor in an uncomfortable pile. Magnamon dived down and quickly swooped Dorumon up into his arms, quickly running away on foot.

"Stay awake, Dorumon," he ordered. "We're almost to the Assembly, we're not far now."

"Magnamon," she swallowed hard as pain ran across her forehead. "The Six Dragons... what do we do about them?"

"I don't know," Magnamon answered honestly. "What can we do but try to defeat them?"

The two Digimon dissapeared into the darkness and soon on the safe grounds of the Royal Knights Assembly, passing the wreckage of Serena and Beelzemon's old home. Strikedramon and Goldramon had managed to get out of the uncomfortable pile and were now on they're feat, the eager Goldramon wanted to follow them, but Strikedramon grabbed him roughly by the forearm and pulled him back.

"What are you doing?" he scowled.

"They got away," Strikedramon pointed out. "Our orders were to either kill them or chase them out of the area, and we've done that. All we have to do is carry on with our next orders."

"Right, of course," Goldramon agreed. "Your right, forgive me."

"You go and inform Reptiledramon that he may carry out his order," Strikedramon ordered. "I will keep an eye on the Royal Knights."

Goldramon nodded and took off into the air, flying westwards and leaving a stream of steam-like energy across the sky. Strikedramon jumped into a tree, across branches and over trees, following the scent left by Magnamon and Dorumon. With a smirk on her face she realized how well things were going. Things were actually going extremely well, things were going according to plan and soon Serena Usagi will be dead.

...

_The Human World_

Serena stared at the blue computer screen, watching as the bright red word** 'FAILED' **flashed across her screen. Again she had failed to communicate with the Digital World, and another part of her died on the inside. It had been six months since she returned to the Human World; she been staying with Yamaki that whole time and he didn't want her to miss out on her education and he made sure she enjoyed what time she had left with her human family and friends.

They had almost came close with sending Fanglongmon a message and going him; the signal was extremely strong and at the last possibly second the message failed. It was, as Yamaki said, _"A right ol' kick in the teeth."_ Yamaki couldn't wait to be home either, he just wanted to return to the Digital World and carry out living his life as he had before. For the first month Serena was back in the Human World Yamaki had taught Serena everything she had missed in the past two years.

It was annoying and frustrating for Serena to have to learn so much in such a little time, but she somehow managed it and was back in school for the autumn term. Her uniform had changed a lot, to her surprise she had to wear a grey skirt with a white blouse and jumper that was an ugly yellow colour. She found the skirt too revealing so wore knee long white socks and grey trainers, it covered most of her legs.

The first week of school was annoying, all of her old classmates asked where she had been, how she had coped, etc. The wounds she had recieved from Yumiko had been gone by the time she had returned to school, but the scars remained. As much as her friends found the scars incredibly ugly, Serena loved them. The wounds on her face may have been from Beelzemon and he may not have been aware that he was hurting her, but it reminded Serena everyday of how protective he is... _was_... over her.

The scar on her stomach that resembled a burn more than an actual scar, the one off Magnamon, reminded Serena of how she was always willing to protect her friends. It also reminded her how poweful Magnamon and the rest of her friends were and how they often used those powers to protect her, needless to say, changing for P.E was often awkward when the others girls leered at her scars.

"Serena," Yamaki called from the kitchen. "Hurry up, or you'll be late for school."

"Okay," Serena sighed.

Since Yamaki had broken out of prison all those years ago and was wanted for the crimes he had commited, Trisha and Ryu had agreed to not inform the authorities of his whereabouts and told all those who were concerned about Serena that she was staying with a good friend of Trisha's in town and would be the one caring for her. If they wanted to contact Serena then they would have to contact Trisha first.

Serena left the computer and got to her feet, leaving the room and running into the kitchen, grabbing a piece of toast off the table. Yamaki's leg had healed along with the rest of his wounds, though he still had plenty of horrible jagged scars to add to the collection, the one on his chest was especially horrific.

"Your in a rush," Yamaki commented as Serena wolfed down her breakfast. "Your usually wasting your time and eating your breakfast as slowly as possible."

"I know," Serena swallowed the last bit of toast. "But today we're doing a project on city life, so we'll be taking a bus to the city to see what life there is like and if its better than living in a town."

"So..." Yamaki gulped down some of his tea. "Why the rush?"

"I was wondering if maybe there could be any Digi-Portals there," Serena explained. "I've never left the town since coming here, I was wondering if there could be any portals there, if there are then that's probably a hotspot."

"Hmm," Yamaki hummed. "Good idea, I never considered checking the surroudning areas for hotspots."

Serena kissed his cheek, "I promise to find something," she ran out of the kitchen. "I promise."

Serena pulled her shoes on and pulled her side bag off the hook, she heard the floor boards creek behind her and Yamaki limped forwards. Yamaki walked with a limp nowadays, the wound to his leg was so bad that the muscles and tendons didn't work as well as they should.

"Don't get your hopes up, okay, Serena?" he said. "I don't want you to think that there is a chance of finding a Digi-Portal, its hard to find hotspots. You just go and enjoy yourself today and bring me back a souvenir."

"Fine," she kissed his forehead. "Keep an eye on that computer of yours!"

Yamaki watched her run out of the room, a smile on his face. Serena kept her self sane with the hope of returning to the Digital World and be back in the arms of her friends and lover Beelzemon, yet Yamaki feared that it would take even longer to finally return to the Digital World, and an even worse feeling was rising in his gut; would they ever actually return home?

...

_The Digital World, the Demon Lord's Manor_

Lilithmon pushed open the doors to Beelzemon's chamber, the double doors opened with a loud groan and Lilithmon entered the dusty room. There were several Gothic pillars circulated in every corner of the room, a large king sized bed in one corner of the room and paintings covering a few select walls. Beelzemon was stood on his balcony, piles of old books surrounding him and a book in his one hand.

Beelzemon hardly ever used his chamber at the Demon Lord's manor, instead he prefered to spend his time awake or in the old wreckage of his and Serena's home near the grounds of the Royal Knight's Assembly. While Magnamon and the others spent they're time trying to defeat the Six Dragons and figure out what exactly they were planning with Yumiko gone, Beelzemon researched ways to get to the Human World without the help of the Digi-Gnomes or anyone else.

Beelzemon didn't want help from the Sovereigns, the Demon Lord's, Royal Knight's or anyone else. It was his fault for loosing Serena, if only he had arrived sooner and maybe he could have defeated Yumiko himself and prevented that explosion. No one knew if Serena was in the Human World or if Yumiko was, no one knew if Yumiko had survived and absorbed Serena's data or vice versa. But everyone knew one thing; if Serena really was gone, then Beelzemon was going to end his life and have one of his friends absorb his data.

"Beelzemon," Lilithmon said cautiously.

Beelzemon turned to face Lilithmon, placing the book he was reading onto one of the piles. "Afternoon, Lilithmon," he greeted. "Any news on the Six Dragons?"

"Magnamon and Dorumon clashed with two of them last night, Goldramon and Strikedramon followed them until they came to the Assembly," Lilithmon pulled a silver tray of food from underneath her cloak. "But enough of that, you need to eat something. When was the last time you ate?"

Beelzemon looked upwards as he tried to remember the last thing he ate and when, "I think I ate somethin' seven days ago," he looked at her. "But there's no time fer eatin', I think I'm close..."

Lilithmon walked back into chamber and set the tray down onto a table, on the table she found the mask Serena had worn laid out, the scratches and blood still clearly visible. She swallowed an uncomfortable lump in her throat.

"Well," she sighed. "Its here if you want it."

"Alright," Beelzemon picked up another book and began to read.

Lilithmon watched him for a few minutes, watching the intense look in his eyes. The only thing that kept Beelzemon alive and sane was the thought of having Serena back in his arms, but what if Serena really was gone forever? Lilithmon didn't want to see Beelzemon die and she didn't like the thought of having one of the others in the group aborb his data, she just prayed Serena was alive, not only for Beelzemon's sake, but for everyone else's too.

...

_Royal Knights Assembly_

Dorumon followed Duftmon and Magnamon down one of the polished corridors of the Assembly. Alphamon had recieved orders from Yggdrasil to use BlackDuftmon, Duftmon and Magnamon as key weapons against the Six Dragons. The Six Dragons intensions were unclear, they knew that Yumiko had only shared one half of her plan with them and they knew the Six Dragons were receiving orders from someone other than Yumiko, maybe the groups second-in-command.

It was strange how the Six Dragons continued to confront them without any reason, it was almost as if they were trying to distract them from something, but from what exactly?

"What do we do now?" Dorumon asked. "Do we decide to track them down or something?"

"I don't know," Duftmon answered honestly. "Maybe we should arrange for a Digi-Portal to see if Yumiko survived and is continuing her plan by sending them messages?"

"Maybe," Magnamon agreed. "But I say we should open a Digi-Portal anyway, we've been so busy for these past six months that we haven't considered the possibility of Serena surving the explosion. If she has survived then maybe we can bring her back."

"I wonder were Yamaki went..." Dorumon mused silently, oblivious to what Magnamon and Duftmon were discussing.

"But what if Yumiko is in the Human World and she passes over?" Duftmon argued. "We'll have to deal with the Six Dragons and Yumiko, the woman who organized them so well."

"Good point," Magnamon sighed heavily. "So what _do _we do?"

Duftmon fell silent, Magnamon and Dorumon shared a glance, despair clearly visible in one another's eyes. And try as hard as Duftmon might to hide it, the despair was perfectly clear in his eyes.

...

_The Human World_

Serena and her class mates all arrived in the city around noon, they were split into small groups and then sent around the city with a camera to document what they saw and record what the locals thought of living in a city. Serena was in a group with Pen, Shazz, Max and Tom. Serena's general behaviour had improved over the six months, she acted like a normal teenager when it was necessary and then acted like she normally would around Yamaki.

The group was to return to the bus in the centre of town at around 2:45pm, and since they had documented enough information about the city they decided to spend some time in a park not far from where they were to meet the teacher's later. The group waited outside a small café while Serena got each of them hot chocolate, she emerged from the shop and handed them the drinks and then set off for the park.

"I can't wait for the end of term," Shazz smiled. "We can finally relax and enjoy life as happy and nutty kids, hell bent on getting drunk and finding that special person. Have you got a special someone, Serena?" she nudged her friends in the ribs.

"Yeah," Serena smiled. "I have a special someone..."

Shazz squealed, "Who? Tell me!" she practically begged.

_'OOHHH! You lovely creature, someone has stolen your heart! Who?'_

"She's like Crusadermon," Serena whispered to herself.

"What?" Shazz frowned.

"Oh, nothing," Serena chuckled.

They walked past a small duck pond, watching as a young child playfully threw some pieces of bread into the pond and giggling as the ducks ate them happily. Serena took a sip of her hot chocolate and felt a strong wave of energy ripple through out the area, she gagged on her drink and turned to face the city skyline, dropping her drink. That energy felt like something a Digimon could create, but Serena saw nothing. She saw no portal, no Digimon, was she imaging things?

Or was her feeling of homesickness beginning to eat away at her brain and sanity?

"Something wrong, Serana?" Max asked, noticing her expression.

"Huh?" she turned to face him. "N-no, I guess I was just.. imaging things."

Max rolled his eyes, "C'mon," he smiled. "Let's go see if there's a decent hotdog stand around here."

They group chuckled lightly and followed him, Serena walked slower than them, looking upwards at the city. What exactly was that she felt?

...

Atop one of the citites buildings, seconds before Serena felt the energy ripple, a dark grey energy field suddenly appeared on the building's roof. Sparks ran across the ground as the energy field caused the air to become hot and static, making breathing difficult for any ordinary human. From within the field two glowing red eyes were seen and a large Digimon stepped into the sun light, blood lust burning behind's Reptiledramon's eyes.

_To Be Continued..._


	2. The Six Dragon's

**Episode 2 **

**The Six Dragon's**

_The Digital World_

Dorumon's stomach became a tight knot, the fur on the end of her tail bristled violently and she heard the loud and somewhat unsteady beat of her heart in her ears. In all her years that she has existed never has she once thought that she would be passing through the beautiful white marble walls of Yggdrasil's castle, she never once thought that she would be attending a meeting with Yggdrasil, the Sovereign's and Fanglongmon. In fact, Dorumon never expected much out of her life.

Either side of her stood Duftmon and Magnamon, Dorumon stared at the polished floor, looking at her reflection as they led her inside. Fanglongmon was deeply concerned about the Six Dragon's and if he was concerned then Yggdrasil needed to know why these six dragon-type Digimon were a problem, so far the Six Dragons had been attacking both members of the Royal Knights and Demon Lords without any explanation.

If either the Royal Knights or Demon Lords were in a close proximity of certain areas they would be attacked by the Six Dragons and forced out of the area, normally these kinds of enemies were taken care of and defeated easily, but the Six Dragons had been trained by someone, possibly Yumiko, and knew skills that far surpassed some of the moves the Royal Knights and Demon Lords knew.

Magnamon and Duftmon were the only two Royal Knights who would be trying to defeat the Six Dragons, they were chosen only because they desired revenge for Yumiko's past behaviour and the fight that caused the loss of Serena. Beelzemon would not attend this meeting, mostly because he was too concerned about getting to the Human World himself and being a Demon Lord Yggdrasil didn't want to see him.

BlackDuftmon was to be the offside player; she would spend her time trying to find accomplices of the Six Dragons and try to retrieve information from Digimon who knew anything about the Six Dragon's. Dorumon hadn't played a huge part in the fights, she merely followed Magnamon or Duftmon to try and help defeat any of the Six Dragons. But it was hard for her to be of any help when she had no Partner to help her Digivolve.

They entered the beautiful white round chamber; the four Sovereigns hovered above them, Fanglongmon being triple the size of the other Sovereigns he laid curled on the floor before the newcomers. Before the trio was a clear glass sphere placed atop a short rounded pillar, Yggdrasil had hidden his true form for this meeting and took on the simple form of a sphere. Magnamon and Duftmon bowed on knee at the sight of the incredibly powerful Digimon, Dorumon followed they're lead and felt the knot in her stomach tighten even more. They faced the floor and said nothing, merely waiting for the Sovereigns to begin this meeting.

"I am glad you managed to get here at such short notice," Fanglongmon said. "I will have to be sure I send my messages out earlier. You may stand now."

The trio obeyed silently, starring up at the large Digimon that dwarfed them.

"May I ask why you have asked us to come here, My Lords?" Magnamon asked.

"The Six Dragon's are up to something," Zhuqiaomon answered. "They've been defeating both members of the Royal Knights and Demon Lords and now one of them has passed over to the Human World."

"What?" Dorumon gasped. "Why would they do that?"

"Obviously either Serena or Yumiko is in the Human World," Azulongmon explained. "If Yumiko survived then they will bring her back here and continue their plan, if Serena survived then they've gone to end her life."

Panic rose in the trio and Dorumon found herself shaking with rage, angry at herself for not being able to protect both her Partner and her best friend. Magnamon's red eyes squinted as he turned to face Duftmon, both of them thinking the exact same thing.

"Who was sent there?" Dorumon asked.

"Reptiledramon," Fanglongmon replied. "So far he has not engaged with any humans and seems to be scouting. We also know he was not the one who created the Digi-Portal, only Digimon of immense power can do so or if the Digi Gnome allow it. We can only assume that whoever has taken over for Yumiko is powerful."

Magnamon shot Duftmon a quick nod, Duftmon took two steps forward.

"My Lords," he began. "I beg you, please allow one of us to go to the Human World and seek out Reptiledramon, allow us the time to find Serena and bring her back. I know Fanglongmon wants Serena to return in order to repay her for what she has done."

"And if you find Yumiko instead of Serena?" Zhuqiaomon inquired. "Will you kill her?"

"Of course," Duftmon answered quickly. "She has to pay for what happened, for what she did to us and to Serena."

Fanglongmon lifted his head to look at his fellow Sovereigns, his head cocked to one side as the quiet words of Yggdrasil spoke to him. They spoke silently to one another, chattering amongst themselves as they discussed what Duftmon recommended. It made sense to send one of them to the Human World, but they couldn't send one of the Royal Knights, they needed the Royal Knights in order to prevent the Demon Lords from trying to take over the Digital World.

With both the Six Dragon's and the Demon Lords causing trouble they needed every single member of the Royal Knights, since the Six Dragon's had been fighting both Magnamon and Duftmon and BlackDuftmon tied up with finding out what they were actually up too, Lucemon saw the distraction as the perfect opportunity to try and take over the Digital World.

Fanglongmon turned to look at them, "We will send one of you to the Human World," he said. "We will send Dorumon."

"Dorumon?" Duftmon repeated. "No offence to my friend but she's only rookie, how can she hope to defeat Reptiledramon?"

Fanglongmon's tail slithered towards them; it seemed to be curled around something. He moved his tail to reveal two items, one a baseball sized sapphire colour sphere and the other a strange ruby red collar-like thing that glisstened like a diamond in the lght. The trio looked at the strange items, Duftmon picking them up.

"One is a Digi-Portal in a ball," Fanglongmon explained. "Once smashed onto the floor Dorumon will be able to return to the Human World, but I want Dorumon to remain in the Human World if Serena is alive. If Serena is alive then more of the Six Dragon's will arrive to try and kill her, only when they are defeated may you and Lady Serena return home."

"And what is the collar for?" Dorumon asked.

"It was specially made by the Digi Gnomes to enable a Digimon to Digivolve on their own," Azulongmon answered. "If Dorumon wears this she will be able to Digivolve into her champion and ultimate form, her mega form is yet to be reached."

Dorumon took the collar off Duftmon and quickly tied it around her neck; she then took the orb and held it tightly in her hands. Magnamon looked at her quietly, then knelt in front of her. Dorumon saw he was jealous of her, he wanted to see Serena but Dorumon was now offered the chance and after six months of impatient waiting they was going to find out the truth.

"If you see Serena tell her we all love her and we can't wait to have her home," he said.

"Like I needed you to tell me that," Dorumon smirked. "If I don't return then that means Serena is alive or that I'm dead, either way just tell Beelzemon that Serena's alive."

"I will," Magnamon nodded.

Dorumon turned to face the powerful Digimon that ruled the Digital World, smiling happily and confidently. "So?" she asked. "Are you going to send me to the Human World?"

...

_The Human World, The Two Days Later_

Serena had told Yamaki of the weird energy she felt, Yamaki thought it could have been a Digi-Portal but Yamaki couldn't be sure as he wasn't there to judge for himself what it was. Yamaki would have liked to gone to the area to judge for himself, but someone may have recognized him and he would have been thrown into jail as soon as he was identified by the authorities.

Now, two days later, Serena was sat in class starring out of the window as she tried to figure out what she had felt. She was certain it was a Digi-Portal, she may have only felt the energy of a portal twice but she was certain it was the opening of a portal she felt. But what kind of Digimon had the power to do so? She knew that only a few Digimon were capable of that power, she began to wonder if it had been a Royal Knight or even a Demon Lord.

When Serena had first arrived back in the Human World and after she had eventually settled down and the authorities were done asking questions, it didn't take long for the media to catch wind of the story and want an exclusive interview. Serena didn't want an interview, she didn't want to be in the papers and she sure as hell didn't want to sell her stories to the papers for a large cash sum.

From the desk beside her she noticed Shazz receive a small note off Max, Shazz read the letter and her face turned a bright scarlet colour. The left side of Serena's mouth twitched slightly as she felt jealousy rise up in her stomach, then sadness took her. She missed Beelzemon like you would a limb, she needed him to hold her and tell that the monsters weren t going to hurt her because he would be there to protect her from them.

She looked away, back towards the window and something in the sky caught Serena's attention. She looked upwards to see something strange glide across the sky, a large dark shadow that menacingly glided across the bright blue sky. Serena felt something in the bones of her chest. It was a Digimon, she was certain of it, it was too big to be a bird and not the right shape to be a plane or a helicopter.

So it _was_ a Digimon and it _was_ a Digi-Portal she had felt, if that was true then that meant the portal was probably long gone by now if the Digimon had managed to break through the energy shield. Serena frowned to herself as she watched the shape glide around the grounds of the school, taking deep dives downwards before rising back up into the sky. Why did that shape seem so familiar?

Serena squinted and looked carefully at the shape, watching it spin around in circles high above the school. Slowly Serena felt like she knew what it was, she just needed to think harder and have one more good look. A loud _'bang'_ made Serena jump in her chair, she turned her head to look at her teacher Mrs. Nagimnaya and noticed the whole class was staring at her.

"Are you done starring at the birds, Ms. Usagi?" Mrs. Nagimnaya asked.

"I'm sorry," Serena apologized. "I just... I thought I saw someone I knew."

Mrs. Nagimnaya arched an eyebrow and out of the window, towards the sky. "You thought you saw someone you knew... up in the sky?" she asked.

The class chuckled, Serena felt her cheeks blossom red with embarrassment as she realized the class thought she was insane.

"Its... hard to explain," Serena mumbled.

Mrs. Nagimnaya picked up the heavy book which she had dropped onto Serena's desk and returned to the front of the class, setting the book down and continuing the lesson. Serena quickly looked out of the window and upwards, the creature was gone and Serena couldn't remember why it seemed so familiar. She swore silently, cursing her luck and banging her fist on the table quietly.

At dinner time Serena and her friends ate they're meals in class, Max bantering on about some sports team he now played for and Shazz listening with an eager look on her face. Pen ate quietly and Tom silently spoke to Serena, showing her a creased magazine which she recognized as an old Digimon fan paper that was two years out of date. She remembered these when she still lived in the Human World and lived a life believing she was a normal human.

The magazine was started by fans somewhere around the 90's, when Digimon were still liked before humans and before creatures such as the D-Reaper and the Deva's caused trouble for humans in Japan. After the Tamers helped defeat the D-Reaper a lot of Digimon fans believed that it was a sign that humans would finally learn to accept Digimon, but then other Digimon began to cross over and even more trouble began when Digimon fought one another and those fights resulted in human injury and on rare occasions the deaths of humans.

That was what set humans off, they began to hate Digimon and many even condemned them and the people who created them. Tom explained to Serena that people believed she had been kidnapped by Digimon two years ago after Shazz had explained to the authorities and to the media that she had seen a Digimon grab Serena, that set back human/Digimon relations and because of bad press the magazines stopped printing.

"Anyway," Tom said. "This magazine is the last ever article of _'Digimon News Beat' _to ever be printed, they stopped printing it three months after you was kidnapped. But this is the interesting part, roughly four weeks after you was kidnapped six Digimon came here to speak personally to a Japanese news station up in Tokyo. They said they were also tired of the behaviour of other Digimon and so portals that allowed them to cross would be closed."

Serena nodded slowly, that made sense and it seemed true. Crusadermon had told her before that only powerful Digimon, Digimon who had requested a portal off a Digi Gnome and certain organizations could only create portals. With a only a limited few allowed to cross problems were less frequent, with an occasional fight once only seven or eight months. The Digi Gnomes never created portals for Digimon who didn't deserve to cross, but you occasionally get a sneaky Digimon passing over.

Tom passed her the magazine and she read it quickly, looking at the picture of four Digimon she recognized as Angewoman, Angemon, Crusadermon and Cranniumon. Serena passed the magazine back to him and watched as he tucked it back into his desk, he tapped the table with the palms of his hands then sighed.

"Serena," he whispered. "Will you honestly tell me where you were for those two years? We've been friends since the days we could crawl, I want to know if the rumours are true. Were you in the Digital World?"

Serena said nothing for a few moments, she knew she could trust Tom. He never lied, or cheated or told private secrets to anyone and since he was a big Digimon fan then chances are he would think that Serena being in the Digital World was the coolest thing to ever happen. If Serena calmly told him in some quiet place what had happened then maybe he would be quiet if he knew how much it meant to her.

"Meet me after school at the tree house," Serena ordered. "I'll tell you everything, but only if you promise to keep quiet."

Tom made a gesture with his hands as if he was zipping up his mouth, smiling at her. Serena smiled back and looked back out of the window, thinking of the shape she saw in the sky. A shape that suddenly wasn't as scary as it seemed, a shape that was almost comforting and yet so annoyingly familiar.

...

After school Serena waited for Tom in the tree house that was so old and cold, the curtains that were once a cheery yellow had now become a torn and stale colour, the floor boards were damp and the ceiling had patches of moss. The wooden walls had unsettling words and drawings carved into them, along with some items Serena didn't dare have a second glance at. It was strange how things could changed in two years.

Serena, still in her uniform, walked back and forth as she waited for Tom. The floor boards creaked beneath her with every step she took and the old round carpet was soggy and wet, after minutes of endless walking she found the carpet stunk of alcohol. The little hatch on the floor opened and Tom climbed into the tree house, having a good long look around him before his eyes settled on Serena.

"We stopped coming here after awhile," he said. "Not because it was depressing without you, which it was, but a bunch of weirdo's decided to claim this place as their own and they let it fall into this shit hole."

"Yeah," Serena agreed. "I had one look at the one wall where it said _'My other ride is your dad' _and thought that I maybe should have picked a better place to meet."

"Its okay," Tom assured her. "You haven't been here, how was you to know? Now... tell me what happened."

"Promise you won't tell?" Serena said.

"I promise," he nodded.

Serena decided to quickly tell him what happened over the two years; missing out some key parts such as her being a human/Digimon hybrid, that she was in love with a Digimon and that she had killed the only other person in the world like her. She just mentioned her kidnapping by the Demon Lords, how she became friends with the Royal Knights and Dorumon and how she had to return.

Serena lied about the reason of her return, she had to say that her life had become endangered and so returning to the Human World was the only option. Tom saw that returning to this world was the last thing she could have possibly ever wanted and that being here killed her, but he decided not to bring it up. Tom decided to ask her something else.

"Earlier in school you said you saw someone you know," he said. "Was it a Digimon?"

"I think so," Serena answered. "But I'm not too sure who it actually was, I had a look but when Mrs. Nagimnaya pulled me away the Digimon left. I just wish I could remember who it was."

"Do you think it could be one of your friends?" Tom asked. "Maybe one of them has come back for you."

"I'd like to believe that," she said. "But..."

Serena trailed off as she remembered the Six Dragon's, she wondered if they were angry at her for what she had done to Yumiko. Was the Digimon she knew one of the Six Dragon's? It could have been any of the Six Dragon's, but then again it could have been Examon. It couldn't have been Dorumon, she had lost her ability to Digivolve and there was no way she could have created a portal at her level of power.

"But what?" Tom prodded.

"It doesn't matter," Serena shook her head. "I think we should get going."

"Yeah," he agreed. "This place creeps me out nowadays."

Serena chuckled lightly and watched him open the hatch, climbing down the ladder. Serena took one last look around the tree house, remembering how clean and welcoming it was only a couple of years ago. She suddenly felt depressed at how this place had been treated and followed her human friend down the ladder, closing the hatch and making sure her good memories of the past stayed that way.

...

Yamaki noticed Serena was quiet at dinner, she leaned on her one hand and played with her food using a single chopstick. Yamaki watched her quietly, chewing down on his food as he watched her morbid face and eyes that were glazed over. He didn't know what to say at first, he wasn't sure if she was upset because she had realized that returning to the Digital World was going to take some time or if there was another reason.

He sighed and set his chopsticks down, "Seren, honey," he said. "What's wrong? You haven't touched your food..."

Serena slowly looked up at him, her eyes trailed away for a few seconds before they settled back on him. "I just hadn't realized how much this place had changed," she replied. "The tree house is nothing more than a dirty old shed used by drug addicts and whores, my friends are falling in love with one another and I... I just can't keep it together!"

Serena began to cry angry tears, hitting a fist to the side of her head as anger and sorrow took her. "Shazz and Max are in love, Pen has become this brooding figure and I miss my clumsy Tom!" she bawled. "I want things to return the way they were, I want my old friends back."

Yamaki said nothing at first, then he closed his eyes. "Now, now," he said. "Doesn't that seem a little selfish?"

"What?" she blinked owlishly.

"You've been gone for two years," Yamaki explained. "You wasn't supposed to return home and I know if you had the chance you would have stayed in the Digital World, you've grown up and you've matured and so have your friends. You only want them to be as you remembered them because you wasn't here when they did mature, you think that them being young teenagers again will make you feel more at ease and like you haven't missed out."

Yamaki opened his eyes, "I went through the exact same thing when I saw you," he continued. "When you and I met for the first time after so many years I hid my shock at how much you had matured, last time I saw you Serena you was nothing more than a little child. Then all of a sudden your this young woman who was completely independent and had your own ideas, I returned to my home only to cry at the fact I had missed your childhood and early teenage hood."

Serena smiled at him, wiping away her tears. Yamaki was right, it was selfish of Serena to want her friends to be young again so she would feel like she hadn't missed so much. Yamaki had to endure the loss of the majority of Serena's childhood and her early years as a teenager, but now he was here and was making up for lost time.

The only thing Serena could do was also make up for lost time and allow her friends to continue to grow and mature without her, she wasn't going to be in the Human World forever and she had to accept that when she left they were going to grow and so was she. Serena was older now and looking back she realized how much she really had matured, she supposed that growing up was something that was hard to accept.

...

Serena felt comfortable at school the next day, she had come to accept that people change and change was a natural process in which all beings take part in. Serena had changed, more than anyone in the entire school may have realized, so it seemed only fair that if people could accept the new her then she could accept the new models of her friends.

That lesson was P.E and the weather was blistering hot, one of the hottest days in that month and the majority of students were suffering. They all sat on the side of the oval shaped running tracks, fanning themselves with their hands and hiding beneath the shade of a tree. Serena had no difficulty running around the track, she had after all stayed in a desert for a long time and running was easy for her.

Serena's digital half had proven useful, now that she had actually used her powers her digital half had resulted in Serena not getting tired as easily as she used too. It could also do with the fact that Serena was used to travelling, in the Digital World everything was done on foot and they only flew if it was actually necessary or if Serena nagged enough.

She ran around the track with ease, not at all bothered by the scorching heat and her friends watched her from where they sat near the track. Shazz watched Serena run, noticing how strong and powerful Serena's legs had suddenly become. Pen watched with an eager expression, he loved watching female runners for the most obvious of reasons, Max lay with his head on Shazz's lap and Tom stared at some birds in the tree.

"I never noticed before how..." Pen searched for the right words. "How strong Serena is."

"Strong?" Shazz repeated. "She ain't no body builder, bro."

"No, I mean her legs and her as a whole," Pen answered. "Serena's got a good pair of legs and she's managed to recover from her kidnapping so easily, she's so strong that its almost admirable."

"Oh-ho," Max smirked. "I think Penny has a crush on our little Serena."

"Little?" Tom snorted. "She's taller than all of us."

"And don't call me _'Penny'_," Pen frowned. "I allow you to call me _'Pen'_ because I always carry with me a pen, but_ 'Penny' _is going too far."

"Right, whatever," Shazz rolled her eyes. "Paul."

"But seriously," Tom began. "Do you have a thing for Serena? It'd be super cute if you did and I think having someone like Pen at her side will cheer her up even more, I was certain she had a crush on our Pen before she was kidnapped."

"You think so?" Pen asked him.

"Well, she was always looking at you," Tom pointed out. "Just ask her out or something, don't dawdle or else someone else will notice how hot she's become and decide to grab her themselves."

Pen jumped to his feet quickly and ran onto the track, quickly catching up with Serena.

"H-hey Serena," he stammered slightly. "Getting tired yet?"

"Nope," she smiled.

"But you've done, like, what eighteen runs around the track?" Pen asked.

"This is my nineteenth," Serena answered. "I'm surprised to even see you on this track, Pen. Your the smart one of the group, always carried a pen on you just in case you ever had an idea."

"I still carry a pen with me," Pen said. "I carry paper now too, when I wrote on my hand and arm I found out that I began to run out of room."

"I guess we could call you _'Paper & Pen'_," Serena laughed. "But I guess its too much of a mouthful."

Pen smirked at her joke. Serena hadn't really changed over two years, she was still childish and made bad jokes, she was just prettier now. Pen knew now was the best time to ask her out, now when they were alone and when he knew he wouldn't be tongue-tied. He took a deep breath through his nose and turned to face her, only to find she was gone. He quickly looked around him, where could she have gone?

...

Serena had felt something wrap around her waist, she had known it was a thick and furred tail, but she hadn't been able to think fast enough and was pulled far away from the track and her peers at a speed that roller coaster designers would be envious of. Serena knew it had been the Digimon she had saw the other day that had grabbed her and she wish she knew who it was.

The tail had lifted Serena up off the ground and held her gaze level with its own, Serena didn't look up at the beast straight away. She took a deep breath, finding the courage she had used in the past and looked up at the Digimon. A smile came across her face and her chest welled with happiness at the sight of Dorugoramon.

"Serena!" Dorugoramon smiled. "I've been looking all over for you! I'm so glad I found you, my wings were starting to ache."

Dorugoramon placed Serena onto the ground and unwound her tail, lowering her head so Serena could hug her and stroke her soft fur that was so warm and welcoming. Serena felt tears whelm in her eyes, the happiness she felt was almost like a warm ball of sunshine in her chest and Serena found herself crying uncontrollably.

"I cuh-can't buh-believe you cuh-came for meh-me," she cried. "I wuh-was afraid yuh-you all forgot uh-about meh-me!"

"Don't be so stupid," Dorugoramon scowled. "We've all been worried sick, we didn't know if you was alive or dead or if Yumiko had won."

Serena pulled away from her, "Then why didn't you come sooner?" she asked.

"We've been having a lot of problems," Dorugoramon explained. "The Six Dragon's have been causing a lot of problems, we can't even go to certain places in the Digital World because they came after us. And now, one of them is here, after you."

Serena frowned, noticing the collar tied around Dorugoramon's neck and noticed an orb tucked between the space between her neck and the collar. Serena licked her lips, realizing the energy she had felt in the city the other day was caused by one of the Dragon's who had come here. That meant Serena was in a hell of a lot of trouble.

"We have a lot to talk about, don't we?" she asked.

Dorugoramon nodded, "Yamaki needs to know this too," she said.

"Yeah," Serena agreed. "But we can't just fly back to the apartment, people will see you and if they do then they'll know I was in the Digital World. If they know I was in the Digital World then that will only be problems for you lot."

"Then maybe I can de-Digivolve to a lesser form and you can carry me," Dorugoramon said.

"That's not a bad idea," Serena smiled. "But it you may have to become Dodomon."

"Aww," Dorugoramon complained. "You want me to be in my Fresh Form? I don't even have teeth!"

"You'll fit in my bag," Serena shrugged.

Dorugoramon rolled her eyes and she began to glow a gold colour, there was a light hum as Dorugoramon began to shrink and her body changed shape. The glow and hum was gone after a couple of minutes, now there was a small purple Digimon smaller than a football with little pointed ears and no limbs. Serena picked up Dodomon and suddenly realized something.

"I have at least three hours of school left," she muttered. "I wonder if you can cope that long in my bag."

Dodomon made a cute little noise that was supposed to come across as an angry hum, Serena smirked and decided that maybe the best thing to do would be to quickly get through the day and somehow try to avoid the fact she had a Digimon in her bag and another Digimon out there somewhere who wanted to kill her. Serena smiled to herself, with blood-thirsty Digimon after her it seemed like she had never actually left the Digital World.

It was strange how comforting it was, the fact a Digimon was chasing after her was something that she feared in the past, but knowing a Digimon was after her made her happy. It reminded her that she was still part of the Digital World. But Serena knew she had to be careful, if this Digimon was really determined to get her then she would have to be careful. She didn't want a blood-thirsty Digimon coming after her whilst she was at school, the last thing she wanted was for her friends to be in danger because of her.

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Round One, Reptiledramon

**Episode 3 **

**Round One, Reptiledramon**

_The Digital World, Two Days Earlier_

_Beelzemon scratched the back of his neck as he waited patiently near the wreckage of his and Serena's old home, looking up at the sky as it switched from day to night. He took a deep breath and began to wonder why Magnamon had asked him to meet him here, earlier that day Dorumon had left the Digital World and Magnamon had asked to meet him here. And although Beelzemon was curious of why Dorumon was in the Human World and how she even got there he was distracted by some other things, for example trying to find his own way into the Digital World. _

_Lucemon said he would help Beelzemon get to the Human World, but he didn't want Lucemon's help because he wanted to do this himself and if Lucemon was helping him it was only because he wanted Beelzemon to do something for him. Beelzemon knew Magnamon wanted to talk to him about Serena, he was just wondering if it was good news or bad news. He hoped it was good news, despite his suicide idea he wasn't too keen on actually bursting into tiny particles and being absorbed by one of his friends. After a few minutes Magnamon drifted from the sky and landed in front of him._

_"I'm glad you came," he smiled. "I have excellent news! Dorumon's in the Human World!"_

_"I know," Beelzemon said. "Duftmon told Lilithmon and Lilithmon told me."_

_"Did Lilithmon say anything else?" Magnamon asked._

_"No," Beelzemon answered._

_"Good," Magnamon nodded once. "Like I said, Dorumon is in the Human World and if she doesn't come back then that means Serena is alive!"_

_"What?" Beelzemon screamed. "_DORUMON WENT TO FIND SERENA? WHY NOT SEND ME?_"_

_"It was the Sovereigns idea to send her because she wasn't a Royal Knight," Magnamon cringed. "You couldn't have attended the meeting, your a Demon Lord. If it helps, none of the Olympus Twelve attended the meeting neither."_

_Beelzemon took a deep calming breath like Serena had taught him to do, once he knew he wouldn't shout again he spoke. "So what 'bout us?" he asked. __"What do we do?"_

_"Duftmon, BlackDuftmon and I are trying to stop the Six Dragon's in this world," Magnamon answered. "We're hoping that if things in the Human World begin to spiral out of control we can get to the Human World, maybe now you can start helping us."_

_"Yeah," Beelzemon guessed. "I guess I should help, Serena would be mad at me if I didn't help yer lot."_

_Magnamon smiled lightly, glad to see Beelzemon's old self resurfacing. Magnamon just hoped that Serena was alive, that Yumiko wasn't the one who had survived. Magnamon couldn't wait to see Serena again, but he knew his feelings for her couldn't even compare to what Beelzemon felt towards Serena and how loosing her destroyed him._

_..._

_The Human World, Present Day_

After P.E Serena had a history lesson and she felt sorry for Dodomon, she sat at her desk and carefully looked down at her bag. The top of her bag was open, Dodomon peered at Serena with her cute and wide eyes and Serena just wished the day would go quickly. Dodomon couldn't possibly be enjoying her stay in Serena's back. When Serena had returned to her P.E lesson with Dodomon hidden behind her back she explained to Pen that she had saw an old friend and had gone to greet them, he seemed to believe the lie as he didn't question it.

Tom had noticed Serena constantly peering at her bag, she glanced at him and he mouthed _"What's in the bag?" _Serena bit down on her bottom lip, wondering if she should tell him. Tom had promised to keep quiet about her journey to the Digital World, if she showed Dodomon to Tom then he must realize how much she truly trusts him. _"I'll show you after school," _she mouthed back.

The rest of the day dragged on and Serena shared her lunch with Dodomon, she ate alone atop the school's roof as she didn't want anyone to see Dodomon. Lunch would have been the best time to show Dodomon to Tom, but Pen was never far from Tom and Serena couldn't trust Pen to keep a secret. Serena decided that it would be best to tell Dodomon about Tom, to see what she thought of the situation.

"You really told him what happened in the Digital World?" Dodomon spoke with a slight lisp that was adorable.

"Not all of it," Serena answered. "I left out some of the important details, like my relationship with Bee and the whole situation with the Dragon's and Yumiko."

"I think that maybe the situation with the Dragon's can't stay a secret," Dodomon said as she chewed on a bar of chocolate. "Duftmon thinks that the majority of the members are reckless, he thinks that Reptiledramon is reckless and jumps into a situation without thinking."

"You think that he'll try to attack me when I'm in school or when I'm out in the open?" Serena frowned.

"Probably," Dodomon replied. "Your most venerable in the open and when your in school your trapped in a building that could be turned into a health hazard, but to be sure you'll have to watch the skies."

Serena nodded in agreement, the bell rang signalling the end of lunch. Dodomon hopped back into Serena's back, finishing off what was left of Serena's food as Serena headed back into class. She found Tom sat at his desk, his eyes wide as she starred at a small portable T.V he held in his hands. He spotted Serena in the corner of his eye and ran towards her, showing her what was on screen.

A Digimon was visible above a tall building, a GrandisKuwagamon who spotted the humans starring at it and it flew into the air. Tom turned up the sound on the side of the portable T.V and Serena realized she was watching a live news report, the voice of the local anchorwomen could be heard.

_"This is the first Digimon to be seen in our small town for nearly two years, the Digimon that was identified as GrandisKuwagamon emerged from a portal only minutes ago. Almost two years ago a group of Digimon promised not to allow Digimon to cross into our world, the only Digimon left were the ones who already lived in town with human companions, this is the first a Digimon has entered our town and have no human companion."_

"Weird, ain't it?" Tom asked. "I mean, why would a GrandisKuwagamon come to our town after so long? How did it even cross the barrier?"

"Yeah," Serena frowned. "Don't Digimon need permission to cross?"

"Something like that," Tom answered.

_"Wait!"_ the anchorwoman's voice loudly said. _"Another two Digimon have been spotted! A Chirinmon and a Reppamon have been spotted near..."_

Dodomon squeaked loudly, thankfully Tom didn't pay attention as he was fixated on the news report. Serena turned away from Tom and walked back to her desk, setting her bag on the table and opened it slightly.

"What's going on?" she whispered. "Why are all these Digimon suddenly here?"

"It must be the Digital Barrier," Dodomon answered. "It sounds like its weakening!"

"How could it be weakening?" Serena asked.

"A Digimon could be doing it," Dodomon said. "Or maybe a human, it depends on how they're doing it."

"You don't think Yamaki is doing this, do you?" Serena asked.

Dodomon didn't answer.

The teacher came into class and Tom returned to his seat, turning off his portable T.V and placing it in his bag. Serena put her bag down on the floor and stared at her desk, could Yamaki be weakening the Digital Barrier in order for them to return to the Digital World? Would he really do that? Yamaki knew how much returning to the Digital World meant to Serena, but would he go as far as creating a device that would weaken the very thing that separated the two worlds?

You could only weaken the barrier to a certain extent, if you went too far the Digital World would come crashing down onto the Human World and human and Digimon alike be destroyed. The barrier could repair itself, but if too much excessive damage was done to it then it may never repair itself. Who would be stupid enough to weaken the barrier?

Unless... what if the Six Dragon's weren't powerful enough to create they're own portals? What if they had devised a machine that weakened the barrier and if the barrier was weakened then portals would appear, they would have a way to pass into the Human World. It sounded logical, after all Reptiledramon was only a champion, there was no way he could create a portal.

There was a knock at the class room's door and a messenger entered, they passed Mrs. Nagimnaya a note and quickly left. Mrs. Nagimnaya read the note then looked up at Serena, clicking her fingers loudly to get Serena's attention.

"Ms. Usagi," she said. "Someone by the name of Lilith Morita is waiting for you outside the principle's office, your to take your bag and see her immediately."

"Oh, okay," Serena grabbed her bag and left the class room.

Who the hell was Lilith Morita? Serena suddenly stopped outside the class door as she closed it behind her, she slapped her forehead. _Lilithmon?_ It couldn't it be! Why was Lilithmon here? Serena rushed to the principle's office and found a familiar Digimon standing outside the office, Lilithmon was dressed in a dark black cloak and her wings were folded around her. But it was her, in all her beautiful glory it was Lilithmon.

Serena ran into Lilithmon's welcoming hug, burying her face into her chest as she felt tears run down her face. Lilithmon pulled away from Serena, running her non-decaying hand down the side of Serena's face and there was a looked of relief on her face.

"I'm so glad to see that you've survived," Lilithmon said. "If only Beelzemon could see you..." she went quiet as a dark look came across her face, she placed her hands on Serena's shoulders and looked back at her. "Beelzemon hasn't been the same since the prospect of your death came to mind," she said. "But now that I know your alive I can pass on the good news."

"Why are you here?" Serena asked. "Dorumon's in my bag, she's already told me about what's happening with the Six Dragon's."

"Something's come up, I needed to personally tell you about the new problem," Lilithmon replied. "But I need to tell Yamaki the news as well, you should be thankful I managed to get you out of school for this."

Serena smiled and the two quickly left the school, Serena leading the way towards the apartment building where she and Yamaki had taken residence. As they neared the building they passed a electronics store, Serena saw that the TVs in the window were showing static which was unusual. The door to the store suddenly opened and a Kuramon flew out of the shop, the manager of the shop chasing it away with a brush in his one hand.

"GrandisKuwagamon, Chirinmon, Reppamon and now a Kuramon," Serena sighed. "The barrier must be weakening. Did you get here through the weakened barrier?"

"Yes," Lilithmon said. "Only Lucemon can open a portal for the Demon Lord's and there's no way I was going to ask him for a portal, you know what he's like."

"Yeah," Serena smiled. "He's into that whole _'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' _thing."

Soon they were at the apartment building and they took the stairs to the floor where Serena and Yamaki had been staying, they entered the apartment and found Yamaki in the room where the computer was placed. Serena saw the computer's screen had an image of Kuramon on the monitor, the virus carrying Digimon walking back and forth before turning to the monitor and smiling.

If Lilithmon wasn't here and if Dodomon wasn't in her in bag then maybe Serena would have freaked out that the only way to contact the Digital World was gone, but now they did have a way to contact the Digital World. Yamaki was sat in front of the computer, but upon hearing Serena enter he turned to face her. His face lit up at the sight of Lilithmon.

"Lilithmon?" he smiled. "God damn, its great to see you!"

Serena took off her bag and pulled out Dodomon, she set her friend down onto the floor and watched as Dodomon was cased in the gold light and the light hum was heard. Yamaki watched as the glow faded along with the hum and Dorumon stood not far from him, a bigger smile split across his face and he could hardly contain his excitement.

"Dad," Serena spoke up. "Don't get too excited, Lilithmon has some news."

"Alright," Yamaki nodded slowly. "Let's go into the living room."

They walked into the living room and Lilithmon sat down on a light brown chair, taking off her cloak and setting it on the chair's arm. Serena and Yamaki sat on a three piece by the chair and Dorumon sat by Serena's feet. Lilithmon pulled a folded up scroll out of her cloak, she opened it and settled it onto the table. It was a map of two sphere's, one was clearly the Human World judging by its geology and the other the Digital World.

The two circles over-lapped slightly, showing the connection between the two worlds. Lilithmon tapped the map and small lights appeared on the scroll; in the Digital World were many lights that were the Royal Knights and Demon Lords along with several white lights which they assumed was the Six Dragon's, in the Human World were only five lights. One peachy coloured light, one silvery light, another a green light, one a light purple and the last a white light. Lilithmon ran a finger down the part where the two sphere's over-lapped, the over-lapping spaces turned a green colour and the lines seemed to have little gaps in them.

"As you can see the Digital Barrier is weakening and at first Duftmon thought that Yamaki was doing it," Lilithmon began. "But I can now that you don't have the equipment necessary to do so and if you had yourself weakened the barrier you and Serena would already be in the Digital World."

"So the barrier_ is_ weakening," Yamaki frowned. "When I saw on the news that all these Digimon had suddenly appeared I was certain the barrier was weakening or that Digimon had found another way to the Human World."

"I think the Six Dragon's are doing it," Serena said. "Reptiledramon is in the Human World but there's no way he could have created the portal, I don't think that any of the Dragon's can create a portal. I think that they aren't powerful enough, I think they may have created something to weaken the barrier to a certain extent that they could pass to this world."

"That makes sense," Dorumon said. "All of the Digimon that have appeared in this world are of mixed level, so maybe the Dragon's are testing to see what kind of Digimon can pass through the barrier now."

"If Serena's theory is true then the barrier won't be weakened anymore," Yamaki added. "I don't think the Dragon's are stupid enough to weaken the barrier to the extent that it'll be completely destroyed."

"The others will be interested to hear that," Lilithmon said. "Duftmon had a similar theory to what Serena said, but now that Serena thinks the same then its probably true."

Serena looked back at the scroll, looking at the colourful dots in the Digital World. She was aware of what colours represented which Demon Lord's, Beelzemon had taught her as she was interested in the subject. Lucemon's colour was red, Leviamon's blue, Daemon's orange, Belphamon was indigo, Barbamon's purple, Beelzemon's was yellow and Lilithmon's colour was green.

She saw a yellow dot was near a cluster of multi-coloured dots which she guessed was the Royal Knights, she starred at the yellow dot for a long time as Lilithmon and Dorumon explained the situation to Yamaki. Dorumon noticed Serena's pained expression, she gently nudged Yamaki's leg and he now noticed Serena's expression.

"Is something wrong, Seren?" he asked.

"Why didn't Beelzemon come here?" she said quietly. "Its not that I don't appreciate you coming here Lilithmon, I did miss you... but..."

"I know it may seem cruel," Lilithmon said sadly. "But Beelzemon isn't aware of the weakened barrier, we haven't told him that there are portals popping up all over the Digital World."

"And why haven't you told him?" Serena jumped to her feet with her hands curled as fists near her sides. "Do you realize how cold-hearted your being? I know your Lilithmon, the Queen of Darkness, but how would you feel if you and Duftmon were separated and I prevented you from seeing him?"

"Beelzemon is an asset to our battle against the Six Dragon's," Lilithmon answered calmly. "He blames himself for loosing you, I'm turning his harmful rage into something useful. I will tell him of the weakened barrier or chances are he'll find out himself, when either of those things happen you'll have Beelzemon here with you soon- I guarantee it."

Serena's fists began to tremble but she calmed herself down, she knew that Lilithmon was right but she wanted Beelzemon back. Six months of separation was starting to drive her insane, she just wanted him back more than anything. Serena sat back down and Lilithmon got to her feet, grabbing her cloak and putting it on.

"The scroll is yours to keep," Lilithmon said. "You and Dorumon are going to be the ones fighting on this side, you need to see whose here."

Lilithmon began to leave the room but stopped by the doorway, she leaned on the doorway with one hand and then turned to face Serena. She saw a sad and desperate look on Serena's face, being away from Beelzemon was tearing her apart from the inside out and Lilithmon knew how it felt to be away from the one you loved.

What she did to Duftmon a few years back to protect him tore her apart, being away from him and pretending to love Lucemon made her sick, but when she and Duftmon managed to confess they're feelings to one another it felt as though a great weight had been lifted off her. Serena was away from Beelzemon and until he came to the Human World Serena would never feel better.

"If its any conciliation," she began, "Beelzemon loves you more than anything else in this world or the next."

Then Lilithmon left, leaving Serena to stare at the map and let the weight of responsibility settle on her shoulders. Serena had been handed the task of finding the Six Dragon's and taking care of them whilst at the same time protecting herself and her friends, Reptiledramon could attack at any moment and so Serena had to be prepared.

"Dad," Serena turned to her father. "Do you think I'll be of any help in a fight against one of the Dragon's?"

"Of course," Yamaki answered. "You and your digital half are completely joined together now, if you tried you could access your digital powers."

"Really?" Serena asked.

"Yes," Yamaki nodded. "Remember Tomoko? Shortly before and after you became a Digimon, Tomoko hadn't spoken to you because you and her have joined together. She's part of you now forever, you may even go through the same life cycle as a Digimon but its far too early to make any guesses."

Serena suddenly got to her feet and folded the scroll, "If that's true then now's the time to get practising," she smiled. "I'll get changed then we'll go find a quiet spot to practise, okay Dorumon?"

Dorumon nodded and watched Serena leave the room, glad to see Serena smile like she used to.

...

After changing into shorts and a white tank top Serena and Dorumon headed to the forest, she decided to go to the area where she had entered the Digital World the first time, they went to the large hole dug into the ground. Even after two years the hole hadn't been filled in, Serena began to wonder if this hole was an entrance into the Digital World.

It was how Beelzemon got into the Human World, so maybe this was how other Digimon were getting into the Digital World. But Reptiledramon arrived in the Human World through a city, so maybe there are many entrance ways into the Human World and the large hole before them was just one of the entrances. They heard a flutter of wings and watched as a DemiDevimon flew out of the hole.

He carried a grey duffel bag, it spotted Serena and threw the bag towards her. She caught the bag, arching an eyebrow questionably as she and Dorumon looked up at him.

"Uh, thank you," she said.

"Its not me you have to thank," DemiDevimon snickered. "Lord Beelzemon wants to be sure, you Lady Serena, are properly prepared for a battle... You _are_ Lady Serena?"

"Yeah," Serena laughed.

"Good," DemiDevimon twirled in a circle. "Lord Beelzemon believes that once you wear these that you'll adopt them as your digital half or something like that, apparently you can do that."

DemiDevimon said nothing else and flew back down the hole to the Digital World, Serena and Dorumon shared a look before Serena opened the bag. Serena knew she could have easily returned to the Digital World through the portal DemiDevimon had gone through, but Serena had a job to do and it would be unfair of her to not do her duty. She wondered if it was true if she could adopt a new digital form, she liked her old form as it was a mixture of all her friends but if Serena had the chance to be something new then that would be good.

Serena would like to be a type of Digimon that was at least similar to Beelzemon in some ways, Serena didn't want to be an Angel type or something like that. If anything a Fallen Angel type would be what she wanted, in fact that would be brilliant. Serena reached into the bag and pulled out a helmet, the helmet of a NeoDevimon. How did Beelzemon get one of these? She decided it was best not to think about it.

"Is that it?" Dorumon asked. "Is it just a helmet?"

"Yeah," Serena replied. "But maybe its a special helmet, the previous time I became a Digimon was when my D-Arc was broken but now maybe all I need is to wear something of that Digimon."

"Maybe," Dorumon agreed. "But we won't know unless we find out."

Serena looked at the helmet for a few moments and hesitantly slipped it onto her head, there was a blinding white light and Dorumon jumped back as she covered her eyes and felt a shockwave shake the ground beneath her. The white light was gone after only a couple of seconds, Dorumon uncovered her eyes and looked towards the spot where Serena was. A Digimon stood crouched on the ground, her red wings folded around her.

Then Serena stood and unfurled her wings, now in the form of a LadyNeoDevimon. Dorumon smiled at the sight of the tall Digimon, seeing tell-tale signs that it was still Serena. A normal NeoDevimon had long white hair with spikes that curved backwards, Serena's hair was long and spiky but it was still a dark pink colour. Her tank top had turned a black colour and covered only her breasts, the edges of her tank top were ripped.

Serena looked at her long arms and the sharp claws at the end of her hands, if Dorumon could see beneath the helmet she would know Serena was smiling.

...

"Does it feel weird?" Dorumon asked.

Serena and Dorumon sat near the hole, Serena was still getting used to her new LadyNeoDevimon form so while she was adjusting to once again being a Digimon Dorumon thought it would be a good idea for Serena just to take a rest. Serena still wasn't sure if she still had the powers she had in her old Digimon form or if she had the powers of a NeoDevimon or if she had new powers.

"You mean being a Digimon again?" Serena asked.

"Well, yes and no," Dorumon said. "I understand it must be strange being a Digimon after six months but I mean your now part of the Devimon Family, your the same as Yumiko now."

"Yumiko became a Digimon by absorbing her Partner," Serena corrected. "I've become a LadyNeoDevimon by wearing the helmet of a Digimon, I'm different because I can chose what I want to be become by wearing something of a Digimon. Anyway, I'm the first ever LadyNeoDevimon, Yumiko was just another LadyDevimon."

"And let's not forget your True Form," Dorumon smiled. "The Digimon you first became six months back was the first of its kind."

Serena smiled also and got to her feet, Serena picked up the duffel bag and suddenly froze when she felt something. Dorumon felt it too, a ripple of energy, the energy of a member of the Six Dragon's. _Reptiledramon_. Dorumon began to glow gold as she turned into Dorugoramon, Serena dropped the duffel bag and the two shot off into the sky, searching for the source of energy.

"Where could Reptiledramon be?" Dorugoramon asked.

Serena thought hard, thinking of all the places Reptiledramon would go where her scent would be the strongest, she gasped, "The school!" she said. "Everyone's only now coming out, he may be heading there!"

The two quickly changed course and headed for the school, hoping they weren't too late.

...

Tom, Shazz, Max and Pen left the classroom as the bell rang loudly throughout the school. They walked slowly along with the crowd as they left the school, the trio had noticed Pen was annoyed that Serena had both run off to see a friend when he was talking to her and that she had been taken out of school. He wanted to tell Serena how he felt about her. Tom was rather annoyed too, he wanted to see what Serena had hidden in her bag.

Max held Shazz's one hand and with the other hand he slapped Pen on the back, Pen stumbled and turned to scowl at Max.

"Relax," Max smiled. "That friend Serena saw must have that Lilith Morita women, Lilith is probably a psychiatrist who's helping Serena deal with her problems."

"Yeah," Pen agreed. "Your probably right, I guess I should stop being selfish."

"Most defiantly," Shazz agreed.

The group left the school and noticed a large crowd gathering by the entrance to the school, a group of twenty or more students stood starring at the sky as a large Digimon circled over-head. Tom joined the crowd and shielded his eyes from the sun, trying to identify the Digimon.

"Its a Reptiledramon," he told his friends.

"Tom, we don't care," Shazz rolled her eyes. "You know we're not into Digimon anymore."

Tom glared at his friends and looked back up at the Digimon, it hovered by the grounds of the school before shooting downwards like an arrow. The crowd quickly dispersed, except for Tom who stared at the Digimon with wide eyes. Reptiledramon couldn't really be attacking the school, it couldn't be attacking children, that would only lead to trouble for Digimon. Reptiledramon was closer now, its features clear as daylight as its blood thirsty eyes peered into his soul.

Now he was frozen with fear, he couldn't move, this Digimon was going to charge him. It was almost upon him when a blur of red clashed with Reptiledramon and he and Dorugoramon crashed to the ground only a metre away from him. He let out a loud breath as he turned to see the two Digimon biting and clawing at one another, something grabbed him and Tom was suddenly by his friends who had moved away from the fighting Digimon. Tom looked down at the golden claws that were wrapped around him, then looked up at the Digimon who held him.

Serena released Tom and looked her friends over, noting that none of them were injured and that none of the other students were injured either. She turned away from her friends and used her _'Guilty Claw'_ attack, she drove her one arm into the ground and then she waited for an opening. Dorugoramon bit Reptiledramon's neck, she quickly released him when she found the chrome digizoid running down his throat was too hard to penetrate.

Reptiledramon head-butted Dorugoramon, she fell to the ground but dived into the air as he tried to crush her with his feet. Serena's hand appeared behind Reptiledramon and she grabbed him by the back of the neck, by the part that wasn't covered by chrome digizoid. Her claws dug into his neck and his eyes went wide as his mind went blank and his will was her own.

"Now, Dorugoramon!" Serena ordered. "I can't hold his mind for long!"

Serena saw something in his mind, an image flashed across his mind as Serena took control of his mind, a being wearing a mask shaped like a dragon's face covered in muddy brown scales. And just like that she lost control of his mind, Reptiledramon pulled free from her and bit her hand. She screamed in pain she felt his sharp teeth dig into her hands and blood trickled from the wound, she pulled her hand free and pulled her hand from the ground.

Dorugoramon fired her _'Metal Meteor'_, a massive iron sphere more than ten times her own size came hurtling towards Reptiledramon. He jumped to the side and flew into the air, ramming his head into Dorugoramon's gut and the two fell to the ground. Serena nursed her wounded hand and watched as the two Digimon fell to the ground, creating a large crater as they landed not far the running track.

Serena heard a sound, she turned to look at the group of students and was shocked to find they were taking pictures of her. Of course, when teenagers are faced with something dangerous and unpredictable they just have to take a picture of it.

"What are you idiots doing!" she snapped. "Get out of here!"

They all jumped at her tone and the group scattered, running as quickly as they could. Tom stopped as the others ran away, he frowned and slowly turned to face the LadyNeoDevimon. Recognition struck him like a bolt of lightning, he knew that voice sounded familiar, but it couldn't possibly be Serena could it? Shazz grabbed Tom by the wrist and pulled him away, dragging him away to safety.

Serena looked at her hand, noting that she was still human. She may look like a Digimon but she still had all her human organs, her human brain and human blood. Serena ignored the pain in her hand and tried to figure out how to defeat Reptiledramon, he was only a champion but he was fast. She was thankful he was actually wearing that chrome digizoid, it slowed him down.

If Dorugoramon could just get a clear shot of him then maybe her _'Metal Meteor'_ would be enough to take him down or at least injure him, Serena didn't want him dead- she wanted information from him. That person she saw in his mind, that had to be the new leader of the Six Dragon's. Yumiko's lover perhaps? Serena didn't overrule the possibility.

Serena got to her feet and jumped into the sky, flying over the school and towards the crater where the two Digimon had landed. Reptiledramon was already up, but Serena saw his chrome digizoid was covered in dirt and the armour on his face was slightly dented from when he had been head-butting Dorugoramon. His chrome digizoid can be dented with a powerful enough attack, Serena just had to keep him distracted until Dorugoramon could get a clear shot.

Serena focused all of her energy, searching for the power she could use for her attacks. Serena wanted her arrows back, she was pretty good with those. She outstretched her one hand and curled her fingers as she was holding a bow, she closed her eyes and then with her other hand pulled her hand back as if she was holding an arrow. Serena opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of the red bow and red arrow she held, she still had her heavenly arrows.

Or were they now unholy arrows considering she was now an Artificial Fallen Angel Digimon? It didn't matter, Serena aimed and fired the arrow. It struck Reptiledramon in the neck, he screamed in pain and turned to Serena.

"_You_," he growled. "You're the one I'm after, not this pathetic Digimon."

"Watch what you say," Serena warned. "My friends aren't _'pathetic'_, but you and the rest of the Dragon's are!"

"Shut up!" Reptiledramon snapped.

"But you are pathetic," Serena smiled. "You have no plan, no leader, your making this up as you go along!"

"We have a plan, we have a leader!" Reptiledramon corrected. "Darknessmon commands us."

"Darkness... mon?" Serena arched an eyebrow. "There isn't any Digimon by that name."

"There is now," Reptiledramon smiled.

The red bow began to change shape, becoming red tendrils that ran down her one arm and engulfed her claws. Serena watched as the claws on her hand grew to the length of her arm, she grinned and charged towards Reptiledramon, swinging her claws like long swords. He moved back and her claws skimmed across his helmet, he charged forwards and knocked her to the ground.

His one foot came down hard on her leg, she gritted her teeth against the pain and dug her claws into the other side of his neck. Reptiledramon roared in pain and his foot came down again on her leg, she swore in pain then suddenly smiled and laughed.

"What's so funny?" he growled.

"Nothing really," she chuckled. "Just... just that you really _are_ stupid and reckless."

Reptiledramon frowned, Serena wormed out from beneath him and a large iron sphere smashed into Reptiledramon's back. Reptiledramon crashed to the ground, screeching in pain as the sphere crushed his back and the chrome digizoid on his back snapped and cracked. He landed in a large crater five metres away from Serena and Dorugoramon stumbled towards Serena.

"Champion level or not," Dorugoramon winced. "He's tough."

"He's not tough," Serena corrected. "He's just fast and that stupid digizoid makes him hard to dent."

"I guess," Dorugoramon agreed. "But he's taken care of now, right?"

Serena looked Dorugoramon over, looking at how heavy she was breathing, the dirt she was covered in, how she winced every so often at the pain that rushed through her head and she hoped that Reptiledramon was down for the count. They approached the crater cautiously, Serena limping as the pain in her leg was starting to become unbearable.

The large sphere turned into particles of data as they approached and Reptiledramon got out of the crater, the digizoid on his wings broken and chipped like the rest of his armour and his wings lay lazily against his body. He looked at them, wheezing heavily before quickly taking off into the sky. Dorugoramon attempted to follow, Serena gently grabbed the tip of one of Dorugoramon's wings.

"He's in no condition to fight," Serena said. "One more hit and he's nothing more than data, he's retreating and we should let him go."

"But if he heals then he'll come back for us," Dorugoramon argued.

"He's not coming back," Serena answered. "When I attempted to take over his mind I saw someone, a Digimon with a mask shaped like a dragon's face. That person severed my connection with his mind and Reptiledramon told me his leader's name was Darknessmon."

"Who?" Dorugoramon asked.

"He said it was a new Digimon," Serena explained. "This person took over for Yumiko, he must be Yumiko's lover or possibly a very, very close friend of hers if he's willing to continue what she started."

"So why do he think he's not coming back?" Dorugoramon prodded.

"I don't how or why but I felt Darknessmon's intentions," Serena replied. "Darknessmon doesn't take too kindly to failures, when Reptiledramon returns to the Digital World he'll be killed and Darknessmon will upload Reptiledramon's data to make himself stronger."

"What a ruthless leader," Dorugoramon said.

Serena nodded in agreement and the two took into the air, flying across the blue sky as they decided to head back to the forest. What happened today was a victory, they had defeated one of the Six Dragon's and had extracted information without meaning too. Yamaki would be interested to know of the new leader of the Dragon's. And so would the rest of her family, when Beelzemon finally came to the Digital World then she would give him the information and then kiss him.

She had waited six months for a chance to be with her real family again, now that the barrier between the worlds was weakened it was just a matter of time before Beelzemon came to the Human World. If that was true then it was just a matter of time before more Digimon came to the Human World and the rest of the Six Dragon's came looking for her.

_To Be Continued..._


	4. To Those Capturing The Moon

**Episode 4 **

**To Those Capturing The Moon**

_The Digital World_

Reptiledramon hobbled into the grand hall of Darknessmon's lair, trying to keep his balance as pain shot through him and his death became clearly inevitable. He had lost against Serena Usagi and her Digimon companion, he knew that if he failed then he would have to return to Darknessmon's lair and accept his fate, Darkness was going to finish him off and load his data. It may have appeared cruel to any other Digimon or person, but in all honesty's it was what Reptiledramon wanted.

He was loyal to Darknessmon, even in death, to be uploaded by his leader and help the continuation of the Six Dragon's mission was all he could ask for. And if he was to die then Darknessmon needed his data to make him stronger. Darknessmon's lair was a large castle-like structure built inside a mountain near the grounds of the Ice Labyrinths, it was a large and menacing structure, something out of a horror movie.

The grand hall was lit by rusty chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and torches attached to the wall, each torch and every candle on the chandelier holding a bright green flame. The walls of the grand hall were made from stone, the very castle was carved from the inside of the mountain itself. Running from the wooden doors to the large and Gothic stone throne was a deep black piece of cloth, a type of red carpet.

Reptiledramon approached the throne that was held on a higher level, kneeling before Darknessmon. Strikedramon stood closest to the throne, she was most loyal to Darknessmon and the one Darknessmon trusted the most. Everything Darknessmon knew Strikedramon knew, in a sense Strikedramon was the second-in-command and general. Darkdramon stood on the left of Reptiledramon, Chaosdramon standing near Reptiledramon's right.

As two of the three mega levels Chaosdramon and Darkdramon served as guards, if those who approached Darknessmon attempted to try to attack him or kill him then those two quickly took care of the problem. The third mega was Goldramon and he stood at the edge of the level leading to the throne, he was ready to face any problem that somehow got passed Chaosdramon or Darkdramon.

"I'm guessing you failed, Reptiledramon," Darknessmon said in a deep and demonic voice.

"Yes," Reptiledramon confirmed. "Serena Usagi has a new power, she can turn into a Digimon now, she distracted me and her Digimon companion got me from behind."

"Which companion?" Darknessmon asked. "Serena has many Digimon friends."

"Dorumon," Strikedramon answered. "One of my informants saw Dorumon leaving via a portal Alphamon of the Royal Knights created."

Darknessmon hummed thoughtfully, "Serena can turn into a Digimon," he said. "How exactly can she do that?"

Reptiledramon decided that if he was going to die then he would want to his leader's face once more; Darknessmon wore a mask shaped like a dragon's face, a crown of sharp horns and the bottom half of his human face was visible. He had long scaly wings and usually always wore a dark cloak that hid the rest of his body, except for his tail that had small spikes running up his tail and up his spine.

"Wait, did you say Dorumon?" Darknessmon asked. "How could you have been defeated by a rookie?"

"Dorumon had digivolved into Dorugoramon somehow," Reptiledramon explained. "She wore a strange collar, I sensed great power was sealed in it."

"A gift from the Sovereigns most probably," Darknessmon leaned on a fist. "The Sovereigns, Yggdrasil and even Fanglongmon are doing everything they can to prevent my plan from working. If only they intervened themselves, but of course they can't... it goes against what they believe in. Still..."

Darknessmon reached inside his cloak and pulled out a DigiCore, a large football sized yellow sphere that they recognized as one of the DigiCore's the Sovereign Ebonwumon usually carried. Strikedramon and the rest of the Dragon's stared at the awe in wonder and amazement, how did Darknessmon get hold of _that_?

"Still," Darknessmon continued. "Its good that they can't personally interven, Ebonwumon maybe a Sovereign but he is still a giant turtle and is slow moving. Strikedramon?" he turned to her. "Do you know what happens if a DigiCore is taken from a Sovereign?"

"If a DigiCore is taken from one of the Sovereigns then the Digital World's defences will weaken making the Digital World unbalanced," Strikedramon answered automatically.

"Is that how you weakened the Digital Barrier?" Goldramon asked.

Darknessmon nodded.

He had told the Six Dragon's that he had plans to weaken the Digital Barrier and when he somehow did weaken the barrier he didn't explain how, Reptiledramon had passed through a portal and now that other Digimon were beginning to pass through the barrier Darknessmon had decided to explain the situation. He knew that the barrier was weakened to the right extent, anyone could pass through now.

"I took one of Ebonwumon's DigiCore's and the barrier between the two worlds is now weakened," Darknessmon explained. "I wouldn't worry though, its only one DigiCore, the Digital Barrier won't continue to disintegrate but at the same time it won't repair itself unless I return this DigiCore. We're safe, the two worlds won't collide."

Darknessmon got to his feet and all of the Dragon's bowed they're heads in respect, he approached Reptiledramon and pulled an Aztec-style knife from beneath his cloak. He lifted Reptiledramon's head, he grabbed some of the digizoid that covered his throat and tore it off with surprising ease. He pressed the knife to Reptiledramon's throat, smiling kindly.

"Your a very brave Digimon," Darknessmon smiled. "Your sacrifice will aid us in the Promised Day."

"I know," Reptiledramon nodded. "I'm happy to help, even if I can do this one little thing."

Darknessmon slashed open Reptiledramon's throat with the knife and Reptiledramon burst into over a thousand shards of data, Darknessmon quickly absorbed the particles of data and with each particle he absorbed the stronger he grew. When the data was all collected Darknessmon took a deep breath and sat on his throne, crossing his legs and leaning back lazily in his throne.

"All of you leave," he ordered. "I need time to think... to think of the moon."

They all nodded obediently and left the grand hall, leaving Darknessmon to stare at the ground as he thought of the moon. In the Digital World there was no moon or sun, all they had was the Human World that appeared as a giant sphere above the Digital World. _'Moon'_ was just a nickname for Serena Usagi as in many ways she was the moon to Darknessmon and to others.

The sun was a source of light, lights were beautiful like fresh ideas but Serena was constantly stopping the ideas like Yumiko's from manifesting. Serena was the moon, she eclipsed the sun and prevented ideas from taking from and shape. Although many would agree that Yumiko's idea was a bad one, it was still an idea that was bright like the sunshine. Then Serena came along, she eclipsed the sun and the idea went out as the darkness came.

That's all Serena was, the moon that ruled over darkness and stopped people like Yumiko from realizing they're goals and ambitions.

...

_Six Months Ago, the Night of Serena's 17th birthday_

_Beelzemon lay with both his hands behind his head, a satisfied smirk on his face as Serena lay on his chest. Beelzemon's gift of sex was by far the best gift Serena had received, the beautiful dress off Lilithmon could hardly compare to how Beelzemon showed his gentle and tender side as he made love to her. Now after an unforgettable climax they lay naked in bed together, enjoying the aftermath of the moment._

_Serena held Beelzemon's mask in her one hand, looking it over before she looked up at his handsome and smooth features. Beelzemon's one arm slid around her waist and he brought her closer, listening to her heavy breathing and felt her warm skin against his own. She smiled at him and gently kissed his neck, setting aside the mask as her arms wrapped around his neck._

_"I can see someone's happy," she said._

_"Yer think?" he teased. "I heard that humans loved tis kinda thin', I just never realized how much fun it is."_

_Serena chuckled lightly and she felt his one hand slid through her hair, he moved some strands from her face and an odd look came across his face. Serena arched an eyebrow and lay on top of him, propping herself up on her elbows as she tried to decipher the look on his face._

_"What's wrong?" Serena asked. "Did I do something wrong?"_

_"No," he answered quickly. "Its not yer, its just... I was thinkin' 'bout how my life was before I met ya. My life before I met yer was dark, and not in thah good Demon Lord kinda way."_

_"Dark as in depressing?" she asked._

_"Yeah," Beelzemon sighed. "I like bein' ah Demon Lord, I like what I do, but I was never happy. I guess I was lonely, not that loneliness bothered any of thah other Lords. Well, except for Lilithmon, but she hid it well."_

_Beelzemon inched forwards so his nose was touching Serena's, he said nothing for a long time, he just stared into Serena's eyes and thanked all his lucky star's for being given such a beautiful and loving girl to have at his side. And Serena felt the same, the Digimon she obsessed over as a child was now her boyfriend, what more could she want?_

_Finally he spoke, "Seren," he began. "Yer like meh moon, my life was nothing more than a dark hole but then you come along and lit up my world."_

_"But a sun provides more light than the moon," Serena pointed out._

_"Yeah," he smiled. "But I'm still ah Demon Lord, we still have tah live in a dark world but we are allowed some light."_

_Serena smiled and nuzzled his neck, delivering soft kisses as her hands smoothly ran down his muscular torso. Beelzemon's arms folded around Serena, his one hand stroking the back of her head and his fingers running through her hair. In that moment he held her, in that moment he took in her scent and felt the warm glow of love that radiated off her, Beelzemon realized how much he didn't want her to leave him or how much he didn't want to loose her._

_But this thing with Yumiko, what Serena had to do, Beelzemon just had a bad feeling in his gut. What if things didn't go well? Beelzemon couldn't loose her, she was his moon, if she was gone then his world be thrown back into darkness._

_..._

_The Digital World, Present Day_

Strikedramon walked into the large round chamber that served as the Gathering Hall, it was a round chamber with a high ceiling and six stone thrones that were held up on different levels depending on the power level of the Digimon. The thrones were spaced in a circle around a deep fire pit where a large green fire grew, along the walls were old torches that also held green flames.

None of the Dragon's sat on they're thrones, they sat around the fire discussing the recent turn of events. Dorumon was now in the Human World and had been granted the ability to Digivolve, Serena Usagi and Dorumon defeated Reptiledramon and now they were a Dragon short. On top of that Serena had discovered a new power in which she could somehow turn into a Digimon.

They were expecting Dorumon or another Digimon to go to the Human World and Strikedramon assumed that the Sovereigns would help by granting Dorumon the ability to Digivolve on her own, but they weren't expecting Serena's powers to manifest in the Human World. She was flesh and blood now, she was DNA, but something inside of her was still part of the Digital World.

"Well, that's one of us gone," Darkdramon said.

"Yes," Goldramon agreed. "It seems we were unprepared for Serena and Dorumon to be so powerful."

"When Digimon have something to fight for they'll fight until they're nothing but data," Strikedramon commented as she sat. "The same can be said for us, Reptiledramon lost but he still proved to be useful."

"Who cares about Reptiledramon?" Chaosdramon snarled. "He's gone, get over it, what we need to figure out is how we're to handle Serena and Dorumon and keep the bloody Royal Knights out of our hair."

"The Demon Lord's are starting to move against us now too," Wingdramon commented. "Lilithmon went to the Human World today and Beelzemon sent a DemiDevimon to the Human World to give Serena something, but I don't think the others will cause us problems."

"They will if they discover Darknessmon's intentions," Strikedramon pointed out. "If Lucemon discovers that Darknessmon has plans to take over the Digital World then he'll have the Demon Lord's move against us!"

"Then we'll have to act fast," Goldramon said. "We'll have to capture Serena and kill Dorumon as soon as we get the chance."

"Capture Serena?" Chaosdramon repeated. "Why are we to capture the thing that has caused us so many problems?"

"Darknessmon's orders were to _'capture the moon'_," Strikedramon answered. "If we capture Serena, what he views as the moon, he believes that our plans will go without a hitch."

"Why does he view the human as the moon?" Wingdramon frowned. "That's a strange title for a human to wear."

"She's _not_ a human, Wingdramon," Goldramon slapped the back of Wingdramon's head. "She's a hybrid, don't you ever forget that."

Strikedramon watched as the group began to bicker, trying to figure out the best way to approach Serena and Dorumon, she frowned and turned her face to the side. She knew what to do, she knew why Darknesmon called Serena the _'moon'_, she was Darknessmon's most trusted Dragon and she knew exactly what to do.

Gathering intelligence, gather information and learn how Serena and Dorumon fought. To capture something you must first analyse it, watch every move they make and try to see if you could figure out how they thought. Strikedramon got to her feet and as the four remaining Dragon's argued amongst themselves she left the Gathering Hall and set her course for the Human World.

...

_The Human World_

Serena climbed into the apartment through her bedroom window, once inside she took off her NeoDevimon helmet and reverted back to her human form. Dorugoramon reverted back into Dorumon and Serena caught her before she could fall, pulling her back into the apartment and they went to speak to Yamaki who was in the living room. Serena's leg was bruised from where Reptiledramon had hit her, Dorumon was a little stiff from where she had fallen and her head hurt but other than that they were fine.

Yamaki looked over the helmet as Serena explained what happened, Dorumon curled up on the floor as she rested and napped. Once Serena was finished Yamaki put the helmet down on the coffee table.

"I told you your powers would still work," Yamaki smiled. "But its interesting how your powers have manifested in such a way, Yumiko was completely different. All you have to do is have something that belong's to a Digimon, Yumiko had to absorb the data of a Digimon to change shape."

"Was there any guarantee that she and I would be the same?" Serena asked.

"Well, no," Yamaki replied. "Oh, by the way, Tom phoned. He said he wanted you to meet him near the tree house, said he had something important to tell you."

"That makes two of us," Serena murmured softly. She turned to Dorumon, she walked towards her friend and gently stroked her face. "Dorumon..." she said. "Wake up, c'mon, we've gotta meet Tom."

Dorumon drowsily muttered something, her body became encased in the gold hue and she was Dodomon once more. Serena rolled her eyes and carefully picked up Dodomon, she went into her room and picked up a hooded purple jacket and bag. She placed the helmet in her bag then as she put on her jacket she tucked Dodomon into her hood.

"Be careful Serena, okay?" Yamaki said as she turned to leave. "I can't leave the apartment because someone might recognize me, I can't be there to help you."

"You don't need to be with me everyday, Dad," Serena smiled. "What you need to do is wear a wig or something, that way you won't be that recognizable."

Yamaki smiled and watched her leave, the smile left his face as he realized how much he hated being so useless. In the Digital World Yamaki was useful, he could freely roam the Digital World without worrying about such little problems, but now he had to hide and pray that Serena would be okay and that she knew what she was doing.

...

Serena had managed to take a quiet path to the forest, she didn't want anyone to see Dodomon and thankfully the way she took to the forest was completely deserted. She quickly walked through the forest and came across Tom who stood near the old tree house, he wore a heavy grey hoodie and jeans and a baseball cap that was on sideways. He held something in his hand but it was hard to see what as both his hands were dug into his pocket.

Serena stopped a few feet away, close enough to see him but not as so close he could see Dodomon in her hood. Serena began to wonder if Tom had recognized her when she was LadyNeoDevimon, she hoped not, that could cause problems.

"Hey Tom," she greeted. "What's up?"

"When you was taken out of school today a Reptiledramon attacked the school," Tom said. "But he was stopped by a Dorugoramon and a new Digimon, a LadyNeoDevimon."

"So?" she shrugged.

"That LadyNeoDevimon sounded like you," Tom explained. "She shouted something to the Dorugoramon and she shouted at all the students who were watching the fight, I heard her voice clearly and she sounded just like you. And today you was looking in your bag and it looked like you was talking to someone, what's going on?"

Serena sighed heavily, "I was going to tell you today," she answered. "I was going to tell you the truth, but you have to realize that if you tell anyone then the whole Digital World could be in trouble."

What she said was a slight exaggeration, if Tom _did_ tell people about what happened then Digimon will be in trouble as many people won't take too kindly to what actually happened in the Digital World and many people would shun Serena because of what she was. Tom would have to realize the importance the information Serena was sharing with him and know that it was common sense not to share the information.

"I can prove I'm trustworthy," Tom smiled and clicked his fingers. "Come on out Gatomon."

Serena's eyes widened and she watched as a Gatomon with no ring on its tail approached Tom, standing on his left with a loyal look in her bright blue eyes. Tom pulled his hand out of his pocket and revealed a D-Arc that was the same design as the original Digivice, he then pulled down his sleeve to reveal the ring that a Gatomon usually wore was tightly secured around his wrist.

"A couple of days after you went to the Digital World a Digi-egg came out of my computer," Tom explained. "When it hatched I had a Salamon and this Digivice, it looks dated compared to what the Tamers have now but it works differently to the original Digivices. I don't need any crests to get it to work, all I need is to wish and Gatomon Digivolves."

"I'm not always with him," Gatomon said. "So I couldn't help earlier today."

"You was too busy enjoying a cat-nap," Tom pointed out.

"A girl needs her beauty sleep," Gatomon smirked.

Serena smiled, if Tom was willing to show Serena his Digimon then he was obviously prepared to keep big secrets. Serena reached into her hood and pulled out Dodomon, she was awake now and as Serena set her down on the floor Dodomon turned into Dorumon. Tom and Gatomon approached them, Tom smiling as he looked Dorumon over and Gatomon introduced herself to Dorumon.

"Dorumon and I used to be Partner's, but my D-Arc was destroyed," Serena said. "Dorumon can digivolve on her own now though, the Sovereigns gave her that collar she's wearing and it helps her digivolve."

"And was you the LadyNeoDevimon?" Tom inquired.

"Yeah," Serena answered. "See, I'm a human/Digimon hybrid and the Reptiledramon you saw yesterday is part of a group called the Six Dragon's. They're after me and as you saw they're willing to attack innocent people to get to me."

"Why are they after you?" Gatomon asked.

"Its complicated," Serena replied.

"Let us help, Seren," Tom smiled. "Gatomon can reach mega but we've never fought before, all we do is practise routines and stuff."

"I can't let you get involved in this fight," Serena argued. "It wouldn't be fair, you said Gatomon's never fought before. The Six Dragon's are powerful, three of them are mega!"

"Seren, c'mon," Tom urged. "What if the situation was reversed? You would want to fight alongside me, wouldn't you?"

Serena and Dorumon looked at one another, both of them debating the idea. Tom did have a point, if Tom was the human/Digimon who was being chased by the Six Dragon's then she would want to help him. All Tom wanted was to taste what it was like to be a real Tamer, a Tamer with a slightly out-dated Digivice, but he still wanted to battle alongside his Partner and other Digimon.

Serena had felt similar when she saw humans with Digimon companions, she wanted to be part of the crowd that had Digimon friends and she wanted to have Digimon friends. Now Tom wanted to be part of what Serena was part of, Tom wanted to fight Digimon alongside his friends and he wanted to know what it felt like to be part of the Digital World.

"Fine," Serena smiled. "As long as you keep the whole thing a secret."

"Deal," he promised.

Serena and Tom shook hands, both of them wearing wide grins on they're faces. Tom was now part of the Anti-Dragon Resistance, he may not yet know how dangerous a fight between Digimon could go but Tom would soon find out. Serena just hoped that he wouldn't regret his decision to help out a friend in need and that he wouldn't get killed.

...

Strikedramon watched Serena Usagi leave the area with Dorumon, Gatomon and the human boy. Strikedramon admitted the forest was a quiet and isolated area, a quiet place where they could discuss Digimon and other such things without anyone hearing them. If anyone _did_ try to eavesdrop then chances are Serena or the other Digimon would notice hear them, no one could sneak up on them.

But Strikedramon was already in the area, she had followed Serena Usagi's scent to her home and she sneaked into one of the room's. She had heard what Yamaki Usagi had said about the human boy _'Tom'_ and she arrived in the forest before Serena and Dorumon, sneaking into the tree house and watching the entire conversation. Gatomon hadn't noticed her, neither had Tom.

Strikedramon was used for stealth missions and gathering intel because she was fast, she got in and out before anyone noticed. And now Strikedramon had gathered some important information, there were two new players in the game and it seemed capturing the moon would be a little harder than Strikedramon thought.

_To Be Continued..._


	5. Long Way To Say Goodbye

**Episode 5 **

**Long Way to Say Goodbye**

_The Human World_

Strikedramon stood above one of the taller buildings in the small human town, towering above the humans as she watched them scurry past her like the insignificant ants they were. She looked down at them, trying to spot her quarry amongst the throng of humans. It was almost like spotting a needle in a hay stack, she knew what she was looking for and she knew how to spot the human/Digimon hybrid known as Serena Usagi. Except Strikedramon faced one major problem, Serena was -whether she as aware of it or not- an excellent shape-shifter.

Serena was indeed the moon, both out of reach and still able to appear as though it was something else. Serena could change her outward appearance, she could become a Digimon when she wished for it and so she became something else and if she was in the Digital World finding her would be even more difficult. Strikedramon was only thankful that this wasn't the Digital World, she was in the Human World and finding Serena was a little easier.

As she looked down at the humans she felt a ripple of energy, the Digital Barrier being torn apart as more Digimon found the weakened spots in the barrier. Strikedramon didn't recognize the signatures, which meant that what ever Digimon had come to this world wasn't part of the Six Dragon's. That was good, if any of the Dragon's came here and came across her that would cause problems, they were not to know that she was in the Human World.

The others were not to know of her mission, they were the dumb muscles who were in all honesty's unnecessary. Darknessmon had said something similar a long time ago, _"When one of those idiots find themselves defeated I take they're data and get they're memories, when I do I analyse how Serena and her friends battle. You see, my dear Strikedramon, you are the smart one of the group. You can analyse moves and understand how a person thinks just by watching them for a couple of seconds, I can't do that as I can't leave and risk being injured or seen and the whole plan would fail."_

Basically, whether the other Dragons knew it or not, they were just test dummies. They battled Serena and her friends, they were collecting information without realizing it and when they handed they're data to Darknessmon he took it all in and learnt how Serena and her friends fought. Each fight taught Darknessmon how they acted as a team, the type of moves they use, what weakness' they have.

Strikedramon wasn't a test dummy, her job was to watch and analyse. Eventually Strikedramon would be called into battle, when she did she would know how the hybrid and her friends did battle and she would be the perfect line of defence. Of course once she knew Serena from the inside out she could turn any slight weakness, now matter how insignifect, into a weapon against someone.

In fact Strikedramon had once taken on a whole group of Goblinmon by merely placing doubt in they're minds, doubt was one of the best weapons to use against a person and Serena has always been full of self doubt. All Strikedramon had to do was turn Serena's self doubt against herself and then she would be taken care of, it was as Strikedramon always said, who needs brawn when you have brains?

...

_The Next Day_

Tom looked at the piece of paper that Serena had laid on his desk, a list of all the Six Dragon's so he knew who he was up against. After agreeing to allow him to help, Serena had taken Tom back to the apartment she was staying in with Yamaki and introduced him to her father. Tom had never actually met Yamaki until that day, but his mother had explained to Tom why Yamaki had been sent away.

Tom couldn't really have an opinion of Yamaki until he met him, though he knew he didn't like Yamaki because of how he treated Serena as a child. But after meeting Yamaki properly and having a decent conversation with him, Tom now thought that Yamaki was a very nice man and was glad to have such a genius on they're side. Gatomon had shown Dorumon a spot in the school where no one ever went, it was where she usually hid during the day and so it was now they're hiding spot.

"This is quite a list," Tom commented. "I don't these guys will be a problem though, you took care of Reptiledramon when there was only two of you. Imagine what'll happen when you have Gatomon helping you."

"They aren't normal Digimon, Tom," she warned. "They were trained by someone and so have skills beyond what you expect, I have a feeling Reptiledramon was just a test, to see how we react to being attacked in the open and without our friends."

Serena borrowed a pen from Tom and ran a line through Reptiledramon's name; she leaned on the desk and looked out the window.

"We have to be careful," Serena told him. "They sent Reptiledramon to see how we operated as a unit, now that they know they'll change they're tactics."

Tom blinked sheepishly, "... You matured a hell of a lot while you were gone, didn't you?" he said.

Serena smiled and ruffled his hair, "I'm still the same, I'm just a little taller now," she chuckled.

Shazz and Pen entered the class and sat in they're usual seats, Tom was quick enough to hide the sheet of paper in his desk just as Max entered the class a few minutes later and sat on Tom's desk. Serena turned her attention back to the window, her eyes fixated on the sky as she wondered who would be the next Dragon to cause trouble. The other day was a close call, she was just thankful that Tom was the only one to recognize her and that no one got hurt.

"So where'd you run off to the other day, Tommy?" Max asked. "You said you'd come out to town with us after you _'sorted something out'_, but you never came."

"I did sort something out," Tom shrugged. "But after that I met up with Serena."

"Oh, really?" Max grinned. "You cancelled your plans for a day out with us just to see Serena? What're you up to?"

"Nothing," Tom replied. "Honest."

Serena couldn't help but smile. Tom had told the others he would go out to town with them, but chances are as soon as he saw her as LadyNeoDevimon he changed his plans and wanted to know what was going on. Serena wondered if Tom was better off going with the others into town instead of getting involved with the Six Dragon's, she couldn't guarantee his safety and Serena knew how sadistic and cruel the Dragons could be after the way they severely beat her father back when they were in the Digital World.

Serena noticed Pen glare at Tom; she arched an eyebrow and wondered why he was acting in such a way.

"Hey Serena?" Shazz tugged the end of Serena's shirt.

"What is it?" Serena turned to her friend.

"I don't want to be rude or nothing," Shazz said. "But my mom wants to know how you're coping, she would ask your mom but you're not staying there anymore."

"How I'm coping?" she repeated. "I'm fine Shazz; you can tell your mom that I've never been happier."

_What a lie,_ Serena thought as she faked a smile. _I'll admit I'm happier than what I was a couple of days ago, but I'm only happiest when I'm with Beelzemon._

_..._

Gatomon's secret spot was in fact the old bike shed on the other side of school, on the left side of the school's yard. It was large and rectangular and once had several slots that divided the shed into different sections where you could park your bike individually. The thin wall that separated the slots had been ripped out by a gang a year earlier and now it was just a rusty shed that no one ever used.

It was the perfect place for two Digimon to hide out.

Gatomon treated Dorumon to the many snacks she had hidden in the sheds and used a battery powered lamp to light the dark shed, Dorumon was surprised that Gatomon had managed to stay hidden for so long. Gatomon had other hiding places over the school, so for two years she had managed to stay close to Tom without alerting any other human to the fact that she was there.

"It's all about knowing your environment," Gatomon explained. "Before I picked my hiding places I learnt the structure of the school, I watched the area's that were least used and eventually I found the perfect spots."

"Why do you stay close to him when he's in school, anyway?" Dorumon asked. "Before now there haven't been any Digimon causing problems, so you can't use that as a reason."

"Tom want's me to stay close because he want's to feel like he's part of the Digital World," she answered. "He's always loved Digimon and always dreamt of going, when I came along he felt like he was part of the Digital World and part of the Tamer's. I'm not always with him though, his mother knows about me so I'm allowed to laze about the house when I want to."

Dorumon smiled, "Tom and you seem to have a close bond," she commented. "That's a good thing to have; a bond with a human is what makes a Digimon stronger."

"You and Serena have a close bond too," Gatomon pointed out. "You may not be Tamer and Partner anymore, but your still friends and your bond with her makes you stronger."

"If having a friendship with Serena makes you stronger then I can only imagine how powerful the other Digimon she knew are," Dorumon said.

"What other Digimon does Serena know?" Gatomon asked.

"Two Demon Lord's and four Royal Knights," Dorumon answered. "If Serena wasn't around then chances are a lot of things that have happened in the past would never have occurred. She's the thing that links us together and keeps us together. When she was taken from us... we... we all fell apart."

Gatomon's ears flattened against her head and she sadly looked down, "Tom missed her too," she said. "He mutters her name in his sleep sometime; I think he may like her."

Dorumon's eyes widened, "Let's hope he doesn't act on that," she said. "Serena already has a boyfriend, the Demon Lord Beelzemon."

Gatomon flinched, "I'll have to get him interested in other girls," she chuckled weakly.

Dorumon laughed loudly, Gatomon frowned at Dorumon and wondered why she was acting in such a way. She realized then that Dorumon was laughing just for the sake of it, she was enjoying being with Serena again and laughing was just one way of expressing her happiness. Gatomon joined in, laughing loudly, she suddenly snorted and Dorumon fell onto her side as she entered a giggle fit.

...

_Three Days Later, The Centre of the Digital World, Lord Fanglongmon's Chamber_

Angewoman led Magnamon down the glistening white corridor towards Fanglongmon's chamber; the corridor had a high ceiling and was big enough for such a Digimon like Fanglongmon to fit through. Ever since Beelzemon agreed to help in taking care of the Six Dragon's things in the Digital World had settled down a bit, Lucemon had stopped his plans of ruling the Digital World for the moment.

He stopped for two reasons, the main reasons being that he knew that Beelzemon wanted to take care of the Six Dragon's because he wanted revenge for loosing Serena and he knew that if Beelzemon helped the Royal Knights take care of the Six Dragon's- a group Lucemon saw as a potential threat as they may have intentions of ruling the Digital World also- then that was one more threat taken care of.

With extra help in fighting them, the Six Dragon's hadn't been causing that much trouble and had resided in they're hideout. Now the only world that was in trouble was the Human World, Fanglongmon loved humans for some reason, he loved how humans could show such unique strength in times of need and his favourite of all humans was of course Serena Usagi.

Though Serena wasn't entirely human, Fanglongmon still viewed her as his favourite of all humans. And since Fanglongmon loved Serena in such a way, he wanted to be sure that she had all the help she could get and that her world was safe. It had been five days since Dorumon had arrived in the Human World and since then Fanglongmon had been watching all of Serena's moves, he knew that Reptiledramon was taken care of but he was aware of dark forces moving against Serena.

The next Dragon that was to arrive in the Human World was going to be much more powerful than Reptiledramon, what made that situation seem worse was the fact that Serena and Dorumon had struggled to take down Reptiledramon who was the weakest member of the Six Dragon's. In order to take down the Six Dragon's Serena needed help, he was glad that her friend Tom had offered his own Partner's assistance but she was going to need more than that.

She was going to need the help of a Royal Knight.

Magnamon entered the chamber and settled his gaze on the huge Digimon that lay curled up in a ball at the end of the enormous chamber, Angewoman walked passed Magnamon and settled on a smooth wooden chair near Fanglongmon and her fingers hovered on the cords of the harp. Magnamon approached Fanglongmon and bowed down on his one knee, closing his red eyes as he did so.

"Magnamon," Fanglongmon said with a smile in his voice. "I am glad you managed to arrive so soon."

"Can I ask you a question, my lord?" Magnamon asked.

"Of course," Fanglongmon said.

"Why not send Beelzemon to the Human World instead of me?" Magnamon asked. "I appreciate that you are turning against the other Sovereigns in order to get me to the Human World, but Beelzemon is my friend and I know that not having Serena with him is tearing him apart."

"This may sound cruel of me, but this is a test," Fanglongmon replied.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Magnamon said.

"Before Serena used her powers in battle against Yumiko," Fanglongmon began. "She was totally reliant on all of you, I was aware of the times she left the safety of her residence, but Serena never believed she could really do anything on her own. Beelzemon saved her from falling off a cliff when she could have accessed her Digimon powers if she wished so, when the Six Dragon's attacked all those months ago you all fought and ordered her to seek help."

Fanglongmon lifted his head and sighed, Magnamon remained in the position he found was starting to ache his limbs.

"Now that Serena has complete access to her powers she has found that she can do a lot of things on her own," Fanglongmon continued. "She can defend herself, she is confident in battle now and if Beelzemon was to be back with her so soon then she would become dependent on him once again."

"In other words," Magnamon said. "You're giving Serena a type of independence she didn't have when she was with Beelzemon, your giving her the chance to walk on her own to feet?"

"That is correct," Fanglongmon nodded. "I am confident that Serena will not need your assistance as often as she did in the past, she has grown up a lot, I can admit that. But all she needs is a little push towards independence. You can stand now Royal Knight, when you leave this room you will enter a portal and you can see Serena again."

Magnamon got to his feet and opened his deep crimson eyes; he thanked Fanglongmon and then left the chamber. As he left Angewoman began to play her harp, her fingers strumming the cord in a manner that created a soft and beautiful masterpiece. She noticed a strange glint in Fanglongmon's eyes, the glint of uncertainty.

"Is something wrong, my lord?" she asked.

"Do you think that I am wrong in keeping Beelzemon and Serena apart?" he asked her.

"You treat Serena as if she is your own child," Angewoman said. "I don't understand why, but I think your decision to keep them apart is right. Serena was dependent on her friends, especially Beelzemon, now that she has had the chance to be away and endure another battle she can see that she doesn't always need help."

"You say that I treat Serena as if she was my own child?" he said.

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm sorry, but was that wrong of me to accuse you of such a thing?"

"No," Fanglongmon shook his head. "Because, my dear Angewoman, you would be right to a certain extent."

She stopped playing the harp; she turned to face Fanglongmon as he gazed silently at her. He rested his head on the floor not far from her, his look that of a Digimon who was thinking of his past.

"You see," Fanglongmon began. "Yumiko and Serena are believed to be the first human/Digimon hybrid, they are not- Yamaki is the first. When humans first made contact with the Digital World they met me and told me of how they planned to unite the two world's by having a child born who would be half human, half Digimon. I gave them some of my data which they converted into DNA and from those strands of DNA they somehow managed to create a human clone of myself."

"Their plan to unite the two worlds obviously failed," Angewoman pointed out. "Our worlds have never been united on a ground of understanding, humans acknowledge our existence but they have always viewed us with fear and mistrust."

"Indeed," he agreed. "When the human government discovered what Yamaki was they scraped the project, they knew how many humans would react and decided to never tell anyone of the project. The only ones who knew of what Yamaki is, were the men part of the project, Yamaki and myself."

"If Yamaki really is your data converted into DNA," she said quietly. "Then Serena is as much your child as she is Yamaki's."

Fanglongmon nodded, "That was why Yamaki was chosen for the project that created Yumiko and Serena," he continued. "Since Yamaki was a Digimon in the body of a human, he was capable of passing on his own set of unique DNA into Serena."

Angewoman slowly absorbed that. Yamaki was basically a clone of Fanglongmon, data became converted into DNA and the humans had managed to make a human clone of the great Sovereign. Yamaki was the biological father of Serena, so since Yamaki was the human version of Fanglongmon then that meant the Sovereign Fanglongmon was Serena's father.

...

Serena yawned loudly as Mrs. Nagimnaya prattled on in the background about some subject she wasn't interested in, she knew it was rude not to pay attention but she was tired from all the training she, Dorumon and Gatomon had endured over the past five days and her mind was elsewhere. She leaned with the side of her face on the desk, starring at the palm of her hand as she wondered what her life would be like if there wasn't Digimon inside her.

Her thoughts trailed to when she first met Beelzemon two years ago, she imagined that she didn't meet him that day and it really was her half brother and sister playing a prank on her. She imagined that she would go through those two years as a normal human, going out on dates with human boys, growing up with her friends and leaving her hair long. She imagined that life with her mother and step-father would have remained the same;_ boring_.

She imagined what life in the Digital World would be like if she had never got involved with the Royal Knight's and Demon Lord's, they would continue to fight one another, unaware of the fact that they could be good friends if they attempted to have a decent conversation with one another. She wondered what would happen if Yumiko was still alive, would she have accomplished what she desired?

The longer she stared at her hand the more she found she was concentrating on it, as her mind shifted to the possible future she became oblivious of the fact she was willing her hand to change. She wanted her hand to become that of a Digimon, if only because she wanted to be reminded of the fact that she should stop thinking of _'if'_ and _'maybe'_, there was no point in thinking about what could have happened if she was different or maybe if she did something different.

Serena focused back on reality and she gasped at the sight of her hand, she yelped and hid her hand under her shirt. She wasn't meaning for her hand to become that of a NeoDevimon, the three sharp gold claws dug into her flesh as she pressed her hand to her stomach. Serena raised the hand that remained human; Tom noticed the distress on her face.

"Uh, miss?" she said.

"What is it, Usagi?" Mrs. Nagimnaya continued to write on the chalk board.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Serena answered.

"Is it an emergency?" she asked.

"Yes," Serena insisted.

Mrs. Nagimnaya hummed lightly for a moment or two, "Fine," she said. "But be quick."

Serena rushed out of the class and down to the girl's toilet; she glanced under the stalls to make sure she was alone. When she knew she was she pulled her hand from under her shirt, she looked at the sharp claws and gently tapped the mirror in front of her with them. Serena quickly made the assumption that she didn't need a helmet to change one part of her body; all she needed was to will for it to happen.

She knew not to allow her hand to be that of a Digimon for too long, she could already feel energy being drained from her. She ordered the hand to revert back to normal, with some effort and a painful groan; the three sharp golden talons became five pale fingers. Serena felt light headed from the effort, she was still human and doing something like that required too much energy.

"I wonder who'll be next to come here," Serena murmured softly.

The Dragon's that were left were Chaosdramon, Darkdramon, Goldramon, Strikedramon and Wingdramon. Serena hoped that the next Digimon to come to the Human World would be Strikedramon, she was the ultimate level and Serena knew that she and Dorumon weren't quite ready to take on a mega. If Serena and Dorumon weren't ready to face down a mega level then Gatomon certainly wasn't either, even if Gatomon could Digivolve to mega, she had never fought in battle and experience was all what made a person.

Serena felt something on the air, a warm tingle of digital energy that seemed familiar. It was the energy of a... a Royal Knight? Serena's eyes widened, why would a Royal Knight be here? She thought Dorumon was the only Digimon to assist Serena, why would a Royal Knight come here? She ran out of the toilets and down the corridor, following the tingling sensation on the air.

The closer she got the warmer the sensation, she could almost taste it on the tip of her tongue, she could feel like she knew who it was. She knew the name; it was on the back of her mind. All digital energy had a colour, as she saw from the map Lilithmon had brought her, but if she focused hard enough she could focus on that energy and she saw a colour. This energy was a mixture of three, crimson, aquamarine and gold.

_Magnamon._

She took the stairs to the roof, her foot slipped on the edge of the step but she quickly caught herself and continued upwards. She came to the door atop the stairs and found it was locked, Serena swore and kicked it hard. The door came off its hinges and fell to the floor, she ignored the fact she had damaged school property and ran towards the Digimon whose golden armour glimmered in the sunlight.

Magnamon smiled at Serena, his crimson eyes a welcoming sight and she ran into his open arms. He chuckled lightly as she silently cried into his chest, his one hand rubbing the small of her back and gently soothing her hair.

"I'm so happy to see you, Serena," he said. "When Lilithmon told us you were indeed alive we couldn't suppress our happiness."

Serena smiled, "I should really stop crying at the sight of you guys," she said. "I must look like such a wuss."

He wiped a tear from her cheek, "Its natural to cry," he said. "I didn't even know I could cry, I learnt I could when we thought you were dead."

"Are you staying here?" Serena asked. "Your not going to leave like Lilithmon did, are you?"

"No," he waved his hand back and forth. "I'm here to stay, Fanglongmon believes that your going to need some help against the Six Dragon's."

Serena pulled Magnamon towards the edge of the roof and pointed at the bike sheds, "You'll have to wait in those sheds with Dorumon and Gatomon," she told him. "I'll come for you at break, okay?"

Magnamon hummed, "Well..." he shrugged. "Why not? I came too early, I realize that, I should have come for you later in the day."

"Your here now," Serena said. "That's all that matters."

Magnamon flew off the roof and towards the bike sheds, Serena made sure he entered and that no one had spotted him before heading back to class. She picked up the door on her way and gently placed it on the hinges, she quickly scuttled back down the stairs and to class.

...

Magnamon felt that Gatomon needed a better hiding spot for a Digimon of average height. At break time Serena took Tom to the bike shed and introduced him to Magnamon, the bike shed was now crowded and Gatomon did realize how badly she did needed to get a hiding place that was big enough for humans and taller Digimon. Magnamon and Serena were crouched low in the shed, squashed together as Tom sat with Gatomon on his lap and Dorumon had to stay curled up like a cat on the floor in order to not take up too much space.

Tom acted like an over-excited fan boy at the sight of Magnamon, he asked so many questions that Magnamon didn't get the chance to ask who Tom even was. Thankfully, Serena explained to him what was going on and in turn he told her how he had arrived in the Human World.

"I still can't be Fanglongmon allowed you come here," Dorumon said. "After the meeting I attended I assumed that Yggdrasil would be strict and enforce his decision in keeping the Royal Knight's in the Digital World."

"Fanglongmon's different to the other Sovereigns," Magnamon replied. "I am glad he asked me to come though, I have something to tell Serena from Beelzemon."

"What is it?" Serena asked.

Magnamon coughed and when he spoke it was with a bad impression of Beelzemon, "If yer ever get thah chance tah go tah thah Digital World before meh," he began. "Tell Seren I said goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Gatomon repeated. "Why goodbye?"

"None of us got the chance to say goodbye," Magnamon explained. "Beelzemon felt bad when Serena was taken from us, none of us could help her and none of us had the chance to say goodbye. I know it would have meant a lot to the others if they had the chance to say it."

"It seems like such a long journey just to say goodbye," Tom pointed out. "But if it meant that much to him, then I'm sure he'll be glad to know that Serena received his _'goodbye'_."

Serena said nothing, she leaned her head against the shed's wall and stared up at the dark ceiling. Goodbye? Did Magnamon telling her that mean so much to Beelzemon? Serena smiled, Beelzemon was such a strange Digimon, saying goodbye to him was just another way of telling her that he missed her when she was gone and that he wanted her back.

_Don't worry Beelzemon, _Serena thought. _I'll be with you soon enough._

...

_The Digital World, Darknessmon's Castle_

Darknessmon sat on his throne and smiled at the sight of Strikedramon as she approached him and bowed on one knee, he saw by the look on her face that she had important news. He leaned on a fist and crossed his leg, Chaosdramon nudged Darkdramon and Darknessmon saw both were excited. They all knew that after Strikedramon gave her report to Darknessmon one of them would sent to the Human World.

"What have you got to report, my lovely lady dragon?" he asked.

"Serena has more allies now," Strikedramon reported. "A human boy with a Digimon Partner known as Gatomon, and Magnamon has come to the Human World to assist in the fight against us."

"Magnamon, eh?" Darknessmon pressed his fingers together and looked to the side, towards where Chaosdramon and Darkdramon stood. "So who should I pick, Chaosdramon or Darkdramon?"

"Pick me, my lord!" Darkdramon grinned. "I want to tear apart that Royal Knight! I want to tear the armour from his hide! I want to tear him limb from limb!"

Chaosdramon backed off a bit, knowing that when Darkdramon shifted into his darker mood he was insane and Chaosdramon knew to avoid Darkdramon when he was in such a mood. Insane or not, Darkdramon was a great fighter and Chaosdramon knew that Magnamon would be in a lot of trouble if he ever faced off against Darkdramon. Darknessmon was thinking the exact same thing as Chaosdramon.

"Okay, Darkdramon," he smiled. "Your up, tear that Knight apart and send a message out to the Sovereigns. The Six Dragon's are here and we're not giving up on our goal, no matter how many Knights they send, no matter who helps Serena, the Human and Digital World will be ours!"

All Six Dragon's raised a fist high into the chanting _'Ours! The World's will be ours!'_ Darknessmon's smile grew, he beamed as his loyal servants chanted and he almost felt sorry for Magnamon. He had no idea who was coming to tear him apart, there was no way Magnamon would be able to defeat Darkdramon. In fact, no one had ever defeated Darkdramon in all the years he had existed.

Magnamon was just going to be another victim in the long run, and all Darknessmon could say to that was _'goodbye'_.

_To Be Continued..._


	6. Insanity & Genius

**Episode 6 **

**Insanity & Genius**

Yamaki stared at the kitchen table that lay covered in bowls, sweet packets, glass cups and other such things that Yamaki wasn't even aware he had. He scratched the back of his head, he had forgotten how much food Digimon could eat, he would have to get some more food- and soon. Ever since Magnamon had moved in with the Anti-Dragon Resistance in the Human World, Yamaki had watched the food supply slowly dwindle away, on top of that Dorumon ate more than her fair share and now with Tom and Gatomon the food was almost gone.

Serena stood next to her father, "Uh... sorry?" she shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"I just can't wait until we're back in the Digital World," Yamaki said. "At least when we're in the Digital World we won't have to worry about food, we only eat when we feel like it..."

"Why don't you go lay down and I'll clean up?" Serena suggested.

Yamaki nodded obediently, he walked zombie-like to the settee and flopped onto it lazily. Yamaki had been taking such good care of her and the others; he cooked, he cleaned, he even helped Serena with her homework and he was even doing his part in searching for the next Dragon by sneaking out late at night in order to search for any signs of one of the Six Dragon's.

He needed rest more than anyone else, Serena should probably do more around the house, but she had been busy with school, training with Magnamon and searching for the Second Dragon. There was still no sign of the Second Dragon, no evidence of their presence or anything similar, but Magnamon had sensed the presence of a powerful Digimon who was in the area.

Magnamon entered the kitchen from the window in the living room, Dorugamon following him and resting on the floor, Serena saw how tired out and weak Dorugamon's wings were and Serena decided that she would take the night-shift to giver her friend some rest. Magnamon gave Yamaki a passing glance as he approached Serena, she saw that by the look on his face that he had no luck that day either.

"No luck, huh?" she asked.

"Afraid not," Magnamon shook his head. "I don't understand how a Digimon with such high energy could hide from me."

"You seem to forgot how well trained these guys are..." Dorugamon's words slurred at the end and she slipped into a pleasant dream, her form became cocooned in a heavenly hue, when the hue died down she was a tired out Dorumon again.

Serena smiled, "I think you and Dorumon should take a few days rest," she said. "You've all been working over-time in order to find the Second Dragon."

"No," Magnamon argued. "Its best if I run into the Dragon, if its a mega level then you won't stand a chance."

"But in your tired state you won't stand a chance either," Serena argued. "You're worn out from flying all over town and teaching me new combat skills, you'll be torn apart if you don't get some rest."

Magnamon froze, his eyes widened and he rested his chin atop his fist. Serena frowned, she had seen Magnamon do that before, he was thinking. What she said had accidentally sparked a brain wave for him. In the background Yamaki's snoring and Dorumon's murmuring was all that could be heard, Magnamon stared at the ground and said nothing for a long time.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We've only been searching this town," Magnamon pointed out. "What if this Digimon isn't in the town, what if its in the city?"

"Why would it go to the city?" Serena asked. "I don't live in the city."

"Exactly," Magnamon clicked his fingers. "You know the lay-out of the town, here you have the advantage, but in the city you'll be at a disadvantage because you don't know the lay-out of the land. On top of that, if it battles you in the open then you'll have the triple amount of humans to protect."

"I see your point," she squinted her eyes and looked away. "But you also have to consider what kind of Digimon would do such a thing, if they are willing to risk lives then what else are they willing to destroy? What if we battle it and it throws us into a building, humans could get hurt, they could die..."

"Obviously we're dealing with an insane Digimon," Magnamon folded his arms his chest. "We'll have to check the city, but I agree with what you said, I can't fly to the city back and forth or continue doing patrols every day, it'll take the life out of me."

Serena looked back towards him, "Then we'll have to set up a base in the city," she said. "We'll have to stay there for a few days, if we don't get any results we'll come back."

Magnamon hummed loudly, "Alright..." he said. "But I don't want this affecting your school work, we go this weekend."

"Deal," she smiled. "Now, will you help me clean up?"

Magnamon looked at the mess on the kitchen table, he made an _'erhh'_ noise, then shrugged. "Why not?" he said. "I guess I need to pull my fair share around here."

...

At school the next day Serena explained to Tom and Gatomon the plan she and Magnamon had concocted, they stood at the far end of the school's yard, in a area that was offered shade by some tree's. Tom held his Partner in his arms, the shade leaving leaf-shaped marks on their bodies and Tom stared at the ground as he thought of what Serena and Magnamon's plan.

Dorumon stood by Serena's side, this was the first time she had heard of the plan and she was keen on hearing what Tom thought of it. Dorumon agreed with Serena's plan, but she also knew the thing that worried Serena the most was what would happen if anyone found out that she and Tom were going to the city together for the weekend. To many it was going to give off the wrong impressions, to the ones who knew Serena best they would know the truth.

Unfortunately, the only people who knew Serena well was her Digimon family and her father. Her human friends would certainly get the wrong impression. Serena just hoped Tom didn't get the wrong idea either.

"You and me... in a hotel for the weekend... alone?" Tom looked up at her.

"Well, we won't be alone," Serena said. "My dad's staying here, just to be sure that we're not wrong, but Magnamon and Dorumon will be coming with us."

"How do you expect to get Magnamon into the hotel?" Tom raised an eyebrow.

"He'll follow us," Serena answered. "And we'll try to get a room on the top floor, that way he can sneak in and we'll have a good view of the city."

"How long will we be staying there?" Tom asked. "And can we even afford it?"

"When the project that created me was discontinued they gave my dad a type of..." she searched for the right word, but she found there was no other word she could use. "They bribed him to keep him quiet, he was given enough to last a man seven life times, we have enough to stay Friday afternoon to Sunday evening."

Tom looked back at the ground, Gatomon looked up at him and blinked her large sapphire eyes twice. She agreed with Serena's plan, this was the best option they had at the moment and it was the only way to cover some ground without tiring themselves out. Tom looked at Gatomon, she saw a strange emotion behind his eyes and frowned slightly.

"I'll have to ask my parents," Tom said eventually. "But I'm sure that they'll let me go."

"Okay," Serena nodded once. "Give me a ring later when you know, okay?"

"Okay," he repeated.

Serena waved and she and Dorumon left, taking the path that was most hidden by the shade of the tree's. Tom watched her leave then took another way home, starring at the ground as he slowly walked home. Gatomon kept her eyes on her master, she sighed and jumped from his arms, standing in front of him and wearing a stern look that looked strange on her cute cat face.

"What's up, Tom?" she rested her fists on her hips.

"Huh?" he arched an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"What's with that look in her eyes?" Gatomon asked. "I've never seen that look before, its scaring me."

Tom looked away, he glanced at her and he saw that she wasn't going to let this go, she wanted answers and she wasn't going to forget about the look in his eyes until she got an answer.

"Its just that..." he sighed and dug the front of his foot into the ground. "I really like Serena, I always have, I suppose not telling her two years earlier was a mistake. But now I have the chance to fix that, I'm not that wimpy little kid she knew before, I've changed and I can be the guy she wants."

"The guy she wants?" Gatomon repeated. "I must have forgot to tell you, but Serena is dating a Demon Lord, she isn't interested in human boys."

"A Digimon?" Tom scowled. "That's just messed up, no offence or anything, but I don't agree with human/Digimon interspecies dating."

"I don't like the idea anymore than you do," Gatomon replied. "But I think that you should just leave Serena alone and leave her be."

"No," Tom said stubbornly. "That's not normal, human and Digimon are just Partner and Tamer, nothing more and she needs to understand that."

Gatomon sighed loudly, "Do what you want..." she said. "Just don't do anything you'll regret."

"I wont," Tom promised.

Gatomon frowned, that promise didn't exactly sound like a solid one.

...

_Thursday_

"Your what?"

Serena shied away from Shazz's tone as the brunette leaned on her desk and leaned towards Serena, a tight scowl on her face that made Serena cringe and wish she had never mentioned that she was going out of town. She needed to tell her friends that she was going away for the weekend, but Tom didn't need to tell them that he was going with her.

"Your going with Tom to the city?" Shazz asked. "Why is he going and not me? Or Pen? Or even Max?

"There's, uh," Serena looked away from her friend's stare. "Don't laugh, but there's a Digimon convention coming up and we wanted to go, to rekindle our love of it."

"Wow," Shazz stood straight, the scowl gone. "You guys are such dorks."

Serena shrugged sheepishly, Shazz turned away and Serena shot a glare at Tom who stood near the end of the class with Max and Pen, he caught the glare and cringed. He turned away from her and returned to his interrogation dished out by a jealous Pen and a too curious Max.

"C'mon," Pen practically growled. "Why are you going into the city with Serena? Your not planning on doing anything, are you?"

"Of course not!" Tom snapped. "We're going for..." he remembered what lie Serena had just fabricated a second earlier. "A Digimon convention."

"Really?" Max frowned. "I thought you gave up on that whole thing."

"I never gave up," Tom said. "My interests merely shifted towards other things in life."

Pen looked unconvinced, he jabbed a finger in Tom's direction. "If I find out you did something to Serena that she didn't want, then I'll wring your neck."

"Okay, okay," Tom rolled her eyes. "Enough with the melodramatics."

Pen walked away, Max watched him leave then walked towards Shazz and wrapped his arm around her waist as he kissed her on the cheek. Tom now wore a scowl, glaring at Pen as he left the class. If Pen was really serious about Serena, about being with her, then he was just another obstacle in Tom's way and he didn't need anymore of those. Now Tom had two obstacles, the Demon Lord and now Pen.

He knew he could take care of both of them, because he didn't actually need to directly confront either of them, all he had to do was show Serena that she had other options in life and he was one of those options. He would get her to see that even though she was a Digimon/human hybrid she didn't have to thin out her options because of what she was, Tom still saw the same girl he knew two years ago.

She didn't have to be with a Digimon, she could be with Tom, the only friend who really understood her and the one who shared her passion for Digimon and the Digital Word. Tom wasn't a bad looking guy and after two years he now had the muscles that warded off bullies and earned him a reputation as a tough fighter, Serena would be a fool to say no to him.

...

_Friday_

Serena decided it would be best if they took the underground train to the city, if they took the bus then chances are they could be spotted by the Dragon and attacked. If they were on the train then the Second Dragon wouldn't see them unless it was actually on the train, so they took the underground train line to the city. After Tom had gotten permission off his parents to go to the city, they had agreed to take the train at five in the afternoon.

They sat together, Gatomon on Tom's lap and Dodomon in Serena's hood, and no one actually stared at the two Digimon. On the train they saw other Digimon, an AncientKazemon who was with a Valkyrimon and man. Serena assumed that Digimon were more common in the city and so they wouldn't arouse that much suspicion, she also assumed that these Digimon must have come to the Human World before the strict rules of travelling between the two worlds was enforced.

Getting off at the main station they found Magnamon atop the station and gave him the signal, they then searched for the hotel Yamaki had and pre-booked and pre-paid for, it was a tall building that was of a four star status, with a posh lobby, balcony's with great views of the city and a kind female receptionist who gave the Tom and Serena a curious glance over. Serena saw what the receptionist thought, two young teenagers coming to the city alone, to her it could only mean one thing.

They had hidden they're digital companions in a large duffel bag, there was a strict no pets rule and even though Digimon weren't pets, this particular hotel still saw them as pets and so they had to sneak the two inside. Serena pulled her hood up around her head, pulling it tight around her face so you couldn't see her face clearly. The last thing she wanted was to be recognized as Serena Usagi, the girl who had been missing for two years.

"Good afternoon," the receptionist greeted. "And welcome to the Hotel _Plaisir Séjour_, how may I help you?"

"_Plaisir Séjour_?" Tom repeated, pronouncing it wrong. "What does that mean?"

"Pleasurable Stay," Serena answered and then focused her attention to the receptionist. "We have a booking for two, under the name _'Prentiss'_."

She turned to the computer and began to quickly type away at the keyboard, "Ah, Angelica Prentiss," she said after a few moments. "A pre-paid booking for a two bedroom room on the twenty-fourth floor, correct?"

"That's right," Serena nodded.

The woman reached behind the desk and grabbed a set of keys, she passed the key to them and waved them a farewell. They took the elevator over the stairs, Tom had been complaining about the long walk to the hotel and she knew stairs would only make him complain more. It was empty expect for them, so Tom decided to ask why she had used a false name.

"If they knew I was Serena Usagi then maybe the media or something would come here, see me with you and make up some stupid rumour," Serena explained.

"Ahh," Tom nodded. "Gotcha."

They arrived at the top floor, Serena letting down her hood and opening the duffel bag to provide Dodomon and Gatomon some air. They found the room near the end of the corridor and entered, she automatically opened the large window in the living room and Magnamon elegantly glided into the room, glancing around him as he closed the window. Magnamon stood on the living room's balcony for a second, making sure he hadn't been followed, then came back inside.

Gatomon jumped out of the duffel bag, as Dodomon jumped out of the bag she reverted back into Dorumon and she joined Gatomon in having a look around the room. Tom entered one of the bedroom's, dumping his bag on the bed and making himself comfortable whilst Serena approached Magnamon.

"Is the energy signature stronger here?" she asked.

Magnamon nodded and pulled the rolled up scroll from beneath a piece of his armour, "The only problem with this thing is that I can't specifically pinpoint the Dragon's location," he said. "But, I **can** sense a strong presence here, and I can see by the scroll that the Dragon is still in this world."

"If it wasn't in the town then it's here," Serena nodded. "Alright, Gatomon and I will go on patrol tonight, I want you, Dorumon and Tom to stay here."

Tom burst into the room, "No," he said loudly. "I'm coming here with you and Gatomon."

"What if we get attacked?" Serena asked. "You'll be both a distraction and a target, I can't have you compromising our mission."

"Listen, I'm not here to hide in a building where I can't watch," Tom said. "I want to be the support on the sidelines, besides, I'll stay out of the way and out of sight."

"I don't know..." Serena looked away. "I don't want to put you in harm's way."

"I'll be fine," he assured her. "And I promise, if I get into trouble during a fight then I'll never go on another patrol."

Serena crossed her arms and made a _'humph'_ noise, "Fine," she snapped.

Serena stormed off into the other room, Magnamon glared at Tom and the human boy shied away from the piercing crimson stare.

...

The patrol that Friday night proved that there _was_ a dragon type Digimon in the city, they found large claw marks on buildings where the dragon had roosted and on some buildings there could be signs of gouges as if something had cut across it. More Digimon continued to come to the Human World, though none were Digimon who could pose to the human population, they were just playful or kind Digimon coming to the Human World for a look around.

Saturday they decided that Tom, Gatomon and Serena would take the morning patrol while Magnamon and Dorumon would take the evening patrol. During the morning patrol they found nothing new, only a few tell-tale signs of the fact the Dragon had been in the area, though they did discover that this Dragon had in fact been causing a lot of trouble. It had caused fire's, panics in shopping centres and even attempted to attack people in the street.

The problem was no one could really identify the Dragon, it moved too fast and it was always left the area before anyone could get a better look of it. From what they knew this Dragon was just going around in circles, causing trouble in an attempt to get noticed.

That evening Serena lay on the bed in her room, starring at the small television that hung on the wall that was tuned in to the news report. The Dragon had caused another fire and Magnamon and Dorumon didn't arrive in time to catch sight of it, as Serena thought of all the damage that had been caused one thing ran through her mind; _was this Digimon insane? _Why endanger innocent humans?

It seemed no Dragon had any regard for the lives of humans, she sat up and grabbed the scroll from off the side table. She unfurled it, setting it on the bed as she looked the map over, a frown came across her face. Why were there two white dots in the Human World? Her eyes widened, there was two Dragon's in the Human World, there could be two of them in the city and if there was then Magnamon and Dorumon may not be able to handle them both.

She had to find Magnamon and Dorumon, they had to be warned. That dot hadn't been there earlier, why was it there now? Serena jumped off the bed and reached for the backpack under her bed, she pulled out her NeoDevimon helmet and turned to call Tom. To her surprise he was already in the doorway, he leaned on the doorway and silently stared at Serena with a strange look in his eyes.

"Tom..." she said quietly. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," he entered and closed the door. "Everything's alright, we just need to talk."

"Not now," she ordered. "We have to find Magnamon and Dorumon."

"They can wait," he said with a dark shadow across his face. "We need to talk- **now**."

Serena frowned and set aside the helmet and scroll, "Okay," she said. "I'm listening."

He approached her, Serena took a step back and her backside connected with the edge of the bed. He stopped an inch away from her, he hadn't realized that she and he were of the same height until he found himself starring directly into her strange dark pink eyes. The frown on Serena's forehead deepened, she lifted a hand as a warning for him not to come any closer.

"I know about you and the Demon Lord," he said.

"Oh," the frown left her face. "So?"

"Its wrong, Serena," Tom said. "Digimon and humans don't interact in such a way, they are our friends and Partners, nothing else."

"Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Serena asked. "You wanted to express your opinion of my love life?"

"Yes and no," Tom answered. "I wanted to tell you how I felt about your situation, but I also wanted to tell you that you have options. You don't have to be with a Digimon, you could be with someone like... like me."

Serena was taken back by what he said, he obviously didn't realize the implications, the sheer stupidity in what he said. The whole point in fighting the Six Dragon's was so Serena could return home to the Demon Lord she had been in a relationship with for two and a half years, now Tom was just expecting her to give all that up just for him?

How could Serena just forget the two years she spent with Beelzemon and go out with a boy who now she hardly knew? It was such a stupid thing to suggest and what was worse was the stupid cocky smile Tom wore. He thought Serena _would_ just forgot about Beelzemon and go out with him, he thought Serena would prefer humans over Digimon, he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.

"Tom," she began. "What you're suggesting is... is... its the most stupid thing I've ever heard, you make as much sense as Yumiko!"

He flinched from her tone, "You can't seriously tell me your happy with a Digimon," he said.

"I've never been happier," Serena growled. "You don't understand though, do you? He's not just a Digimon, he's part of me, he's my reason to exist and you expect me to just forgot about everything he and I have ever been through?"

"Stop being so melodramatic," he snapped. "What does he have that I don't?"

"He's sensitive, gentle and understanding," Serena answered quickly.

"He's a frickin' Demon Lord!" Tom shouted. "He's vicious, manipulative and cold-hearted! How do you know he's not just using you?"

"Because he would never do that!" Serena screamed. "I know the Demon Lord's can be vicious, manipulative and even cold-hearted, but there's so much more to them! You could never understand!"

"I understand perfectly," Tom said. "I understand that you're being controlled by the Demon Lord and your confusing his true intentions with love."

"**You. Don't. Know. Him**," Serena snarled. "I experienced physical intimacy with him, I know how gentle he can be, how caring, there's a side to him only I've seen."

"You've..." the anger flushed from his face and was replaced with a sickened expression. "You had sex with a Digimon? With a Demon Lord?"

"Yes," she admitted proudly.

Tom roughly pushed her onto the bed, he jumped on top of her, pinning her arms above her head in a dominating way. Serena struggled against his grip, Tom was really strong and as much as she squirmed and struggled, she couldn't get away. Serena bared her teeth and wished she had put on her NeoDevimon helmet, at least she would have been strong enough to fend him off and she doubted he would want to become physically close with a NeoDevimon.

"I'm offering you a choice here," Tom growled. "Just try a human, see what we taste like before you make the decision that'll make you throw away your life."

"To-_mff_," his lips enclosed around hers and his grip tightened. Serena stopped squirming and frowned; she felt nothing, she felt no warmth, no love, no desire. There was nothing there, not a spark and not an ounce of pleasure, he was nothing but a friend. He made a noise, a type of murmur which indicated he was enjoying himself. After what felt like an eternity he pulled away from her, a smile on his face and he arched an eyebrow.

Serena's face was that of an annoyed person, "Nothing," she said. "You don't do anything for me."

Tom scowled, he released one hand and curled it into a fist, slamming it an inch from her ear. "You're lying!" he screamed. "You do feel something, you're in denial."

Serena kneed him in the groin, he gasped in pain, "The only thing I feel right now is disgust at the fact that one of my friends doesn't want me to be happy," she snarled.

With her free hand, Serena grabbed a fistful of his hair and kicked him in the chest, pushing him off the bed and jumping off. She grabbed the scroll and the helmet, she put the helmet on and a blinding white light consumed the room. Tom yelled and covered his eyes, the light died down and he removed the hands from his face, he saw Serena was gone and ran into the living room.

Serena stood on the edge of the balcony, she turned to him. "I think its best if you don't come anywhere near me until you realize that you can't decide what's best for me," she told him. "Until then, you and Gatomon can return to the town or you can help, it just depends on whether or not your still a jackass."

She took off into the night sky, Gatomon appeared in the kitchen doorway, starring sadly at her Tamer who stared at the ground. She knew he wouldn't be able to keep his promise, he was going to regret trying to force Serena to give up her Demon Lord boyfriend for him, he was going to regret it for a long time.

...

Serena found Magnamon and Dorugoramon hovering above the city centre, she explained to them what she had found out and she showed them the scroll. There was still two white dots in the Human World, there was still two Dragon's in the city and they needed to find them before things got out of hand. They had only assumed that all of the damage had been done by one of the Dragon's, with two Dragon's then they could only imagine what damage would be caused.

"We need to find them," Serena said urgently.

"I know, I know," Magnamon said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "But I can't detect them, they're hiding their energy signature expertly."

"We need to think about where they would go," Dorugoramon pointed out. "I think one Dragon is giving the order's and the other's following, if that's true then we have to think about what that Dragon would order the other to do."

"One of the two Dragon's caused a tremendous amount of damage," Magnamon noted. "It has our attention, maybe that's all it wanted, our attention, now that its got that then maybe it'll go somewhere quiet."

Serena didn't know the city's layout as well as she should, but she did know the most quiet place in the whole city from her previous trips. "The Dragon could be in the old mansion," she said.

"There's a mansion around here?" Magnamon asked.

"Yes," Serena nodded. "But let's check it out first, I'll explain on the way."

Magnamon took the scroll and hid it beneath his armour, Serena took point towards the very edge of the city, Magnamon and Dorugoramon following her. They flew over the busy city, thankfully it was too dark for anyone to see them unless they actually bothered to have a good look at the night sky. In the distance Magnamon saw a large structure, beyond that was a cliff that over-looked the ocean and the beach.

"I heard that years ago a blue-blood family from another country moved to the city," Serena told them. "They were wealthy beyond belief and built the mansion, building it by a city in order to keep the two children entertained. Apparently, one night, the father went berserk and killed the whole family and then himself."

Dorugoramon felt a cold shiver down her spine, "Is... is that a true story?" she hated ghosts and she hated horror stories.

"Don't know," Serena shrugged. "If it is true, it happened before I was born or when I was small, even in my small town we heard stuff like that on the news and I would have remembered my mum talking about it."

They touched ground before the mansion's large wooden doors, Dorugoramon felt uneasy and she glanced around her, spotting a rusted swing that creaked as the wind moved it. She shivered and her fur stood on end, she took a step back from the mansion's doors and she really felt like running away. Serena noticed her friend's fear, she gently stroked the side of Dorugoramon's face.

"Come on," Serena assured softly. "There's no ghost's or ghouls here, okay?"

Dorugoramon nodded feebly, "O-o-okay," she said.

The doors were big enough for a Digimon such as Dorugoramon to squeeze through, Magnamon pushed the stiff doors open and they slowly swung open with an eerie and hollow creak. Magnamon entered first, looking at the dust covered floor and all the furniture covered in plastic covers, when he saw and heard no one he signalled for Serena and Dorugoramon to enter.

Serena gently pushed Dorugoramon in, then followed and closed the doors. It wasn't completely black inside, some light seeped in through the tall windows and they could clearly see the layout of the main hall. Magnamon's crimson eyes seemed extremely bright and menacing in the darkness, his eyes scanned every inch of the room before his gaze settled on the staircase, at the very top of the staircase.

Serena followed his line of sight, and from the darkness emerged the Second Dragon: Darkdramon. He grinned psychotically, his white teeth gleaming in the dark and a murderous glint in his yellow/orange eyes that were two fiery orbs in the gloom. Dorugoramon saw Darkdramon and realized that even though she was afraid of spooks and scary stories, this Digimon was ten times worse.

"So you found me finally!" Darkdramon laughed. "I was getting so bored scaring humans, torching buildings, attacking the pathetic insents... But now that you're here, I can really have some fun!"

"Fun?" Serena repeated. "You think attacking and harming humans is fun?"

"Of course," Darkdramon answered, then clapped his hands. "Who's first?"

"We're all first," Serena snapped. "You take us all on."

"Nuh-huh," Darkdramon wagged a finger. "I don't fight against impossible odds, its unfair. See, I'm not an idiot like Reptiledramon who thought he could take you both on."

"Serena," Magnamon turned to her. "We have to abide by the Laws of Digimon Combat, if he requests one opponent then he fights one opponent. That is, considering, he doesn't have another Dragon laying in wait."

"Its just me," Darkdramon told them. "I came here alone."

"Then explain why there are two Dragon's in the Human World," Dorugoramon ordered.

Darkdramon looked confused, "What?" he asked.

"He doesn't now," Magnamon said in a tone only Serena and Dorugoramon could hear. "Let's play that to our advantage."

"C'mon!" Darkdramon said impatiently. "Who am I fighting first?"

"Me," Magnamon took a step forward.

"Ooohhh," Darkdramon awed. "Magnamon. The Radiance of Miracles, a Holy Knight Digimon, a Royal Knight and from what I know of your reputation... they call you a genius."

"Well," Magnamon said rather smugly. "I am the technician for the Royal Knight's, my computer systems are-"

"Magna," Serena cut in. "Enough gloating, we don't have time."

"Right," he nodded. "Let's go, Darkdramon."

"Bring it, little Digimon," Darkdramon provoked him.

Magnamon moved his one hand back and a sphere of plasma energy appeared in his palm. He threw the ball forwards like a baseball player, Darkdramon didn't move, the attack hit its target. Dust flew up into the air, yellow sparks dancing along the floor and passed Magnamon's feet. Serena bit down on her lip, she had a feeling that wasn't going to be enough. Magnamon chuckled with triumph, the dust settled and he gasped.

Darkdramon looked at the slight scorch mark on his armoured chest, he placed a hand on his chest. "Is that it?" he asked. "I thought a Royal Knight could do better than that."

"I'm..." Magnamon snarled. "I'm just getting warmed up!"

Magnamon charged towards him, both his fists covered in electricity and he swung a punch. Darkdramon arched his head to the side, Magnamon's fist went through the wall, he pulled his fist back and swung another punch. Darkdramon curved to the side, Magnamon swung a kick and Darkdramon ducked beneath his feet. He swung his leg, catching Magnamon by his ankles and he fell onto his back.

The _'Gigastick Lance' _on Darkdramon's right hand began to hum with power, he brought the lance down fast, Magnamon didn't have time to move. There was the sound of something cracking as the lance went through its target, Serena gasped. There was silence for a few moments before Magnamon realized he had closed his eyes, he slowly opened them and found the lance had gone through the wooden floor a few inches from his face.

Darkdramon leaned forwards, grinning, "You think I'm going to kill you so easily and quickly?" she asked. "No, no, my friend. That would be such a waste. I like to drag my battles out."

Magnamon growled and head butted Darkdramon, he kicked him in the chest and rolled to the side, jumping to his feet with electricity dancing up his arms. Darkdramon smiled and tackled Magnamon, ramming his head into Magnamon's gut and pushed him over the staircase's banister. They fell to the ground, breaking a table in two, and Darkdramon grabbed Magnamon's head, lifting it up and slamming it into the ground several times.

Serena's fists shook violently, she couldn't watch Magnamon get beat so severely. Darkdramon was a mega, on top of that he was trained by someone incredibly powerful and he was insane, he was totally unpredictable and Magnamon couldn't deal with someone like that. Magnamon was a genius, he saw everything as some sort of equation or calculation and he had to fight with plans and tactics.

Darkdramon had no plans, he had no tactics, he was doing any move that came to his mind just because he wanted to. Magnamon couldn't analyse someone like that, as much as she hated to admit it, Magnamon couldn't win. Serena turned to Dorugoramon, she saw that her friend was thinking the same thing, and both were willing to break the Laws of Digimon Combat.

Dorugoramon charged forwards, Serena's hand slipped through the ground and reappeared behind Darkdramon, her golden claws dug into the back of his neck. He howled in pain, releasing Magnamon. Dorugoramon tackled Darkdramon into the wall, the wall collapsed into itself and Dorugoramon pulled out of the wall, wrapping Magnamon up in her tail and gliding back towards Serena.

She pulled her hand out of the ground just as Magnamon was set on the ground, he appeared disorientated, his legs a little bit like jelly, but the armour surrounding his face wasn't too badly damaged, it was just a little dented. He wasn't hurt, but Serena couldn't risk Darkdramon's _'Gigastick Lance' _going through something other than the ground.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Y-yeah," Magnamon replied. "I'm just a little... a little dizzy."

Dorugoramon turned towards the hole in the wall, Darkdramon's hand appeared from the gloom and he pushed himself out of the hole. He was seething with rage, his body trembling with rage and he glared at the trio who stood at the mansion's doors.

"What did I say?" he screamed. "I said only one opponent! Now I'm annoyed, now I'm going to have to finish the fight quickly. **AND. I. HATE. QUICK. FIGHTS**!"

Darkdramon opened his mouth and fired a thick beam of Dark Matter energy, Magnamon's eyes widened and tried to shout a warning. He wasn't fast enough. The energy hit them and the force of the blow created a dark mushroom cloud of energy that created black flames that spread along the ground, black electricity spread along the ceiling, everything the sparks touched exploded.

The rafter's of the mansion broke into two, the blast shook the ground and the roof collapsed in onto itself. Darkdramon laughed as the roof fell in onto the mansion, the fire spread along the mansion and consumed everything, a chorus of explosions could be heard as the sparks grew and its reach spread. He flew out of the building, watching as the floors collapses, windows shattering, the building fall in onto itself.

He smiled to himself, he knew that the move was forbidden and he knew that it was said nothing in this world could survive it, and he knew that Darknessmon wasn't going to be happy when he found out that his _'moon' _was gone. But it was for the best, once Darkdramon explained it to him he would see that with those three gone Darknessmon could begin his plan.

...

Strikedramon arrived at the sight of where the mansion once stood before the human services and after Darkdramon left, she walked along the rubble, stamping out dark flames where she could and assessed the situation. It was all gone, it was nothing now but a high pile of bricks, debris, wood and rubble. She walked towards the end of the mess, she moved aside some of the debris and found something that just about managed to catch the light.

She moved some more debris and found Magnamon, she didn't bother to assess the damage done to him, she reached into his armour and pulled out the scroll. Strikedramon looked around her once more, spotting three golden claws amongst the mess and a tattered and torn wing. Darknessmon wasn't going to be happy when he found out Serena was dead, but she was sure that he would see the bright side of it.

Strikedramon unfurled the scroll, when she had seen Serena carrying the map above the city centre she had a feeling that it was important, and now she could see what exactly it was. Strikedramon heard the sound of sirens in the distance, she took off into the night sky and decided it was best if she left. Her job was done now, Serena Usagi was gone along with two other annoyances, and now they had a scroll that would give them the advantage.

The scroll was a huge advantage, with it they could follow the Royal Knight's and Demon Lord's moves, victory was so close now that she could taste it on the tip of her tongue. Now she was confident that both the Human and Digital World would be theirs, after all there was no one stop them now.

_To Be Continued..._


	7. We Humans With Selfish Hearts

****

Episode 7

We Humans with Selfish Hearts

Yamaki sat in the kitchen, his unblinking gaze settled on the telephone wired into the wall, and he waited for the call he was expecting. He was waiting for Serena to call in, waiting for her to inform him of her situation. It had been several hours since her last call and he was growing worried, why hadn't she called in? She promised to call at least every hour, what could she be doing that was stopping her from calling her own father?

He waited, and waited, the minutes dragging by, the hours seeming to last forever and eternity. He continued to wait, counting the seconds, waiting. Then, the buzz of the phone, Yamaki jumped to his feet and grabbed the phone. It slipped from his grasp, it dangled from its curly wire cord and he grabbed it. Without even managing to catch his breath, he practically screamed, "Serena! Where are you?"

"Uh, sir, this is Paul," came the reply.

Yamaki's hope left him, quenched in that second he heard Pen's voice. Serena had given her number to only Tom, Yamaki wondered how Pen had gotten hold of it, he could only assume he either over-heard Serena giving it to Tom or Pen stole the sheet of paper it was written on. Yamaki knew he had to think fast, make sure Pen was not aware of who he was and get him off the line.

"Oh, hello," Yamaki greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for Serena," Pen answered. "But I'm guessing she's not there."

"No," Yamaki said. "She isn't here, I don't suppose any of your friends have seen her?"

"No one's seen her," Pen replied. "Serena told us she was going into the city, but when I heard Tom had come home I assumed she came home too."

"Tom's home?" Yamaki frowned. "I wasn't aware of that. I'll have Serena call you when she returns."

"Thank you," Pen said. "Uh, Mr...?"

"Mr. Prentiss," Yamaki answered quickly.

"Mr. Prentiss," Pen repeated. "Thank you."

Pen hung up and Yamaki put the phone onto the receiver, he picked the phone back up and dialled Tom's house number. After a few rings, Tom answered, repeating Yamaki's earlier mistake of assuming it was Serena.

"Serena!" Tom screeched.

"Tom!" Yamaki snapped. "Its Yamaki, where's Serena? Why are you back?"

"Serena and I got into a fight," Tom answered shamefully. "She left and I came home, I've been trying to phone her but she isn't answering her mobile and the hotel can't get her to answer her room's phone."

"She's in trouble," Yamaki's voice was layered with desperation.

"What should we do?" Tom asked.

"You're going to do nothing!" Yamaki shouted. "If you hadn't left then maybe Serena would be alright, you're going to stay where you are!"

Yamaki hung up and he left the apartment, barely remembering to grab some money for train fair and locked the apartment's door. He ran down the street towards the train station, he passed the small store with the television's in the front window and his attention became focused on the news station the televisions were tuned too. He watched with wide eyes as they showed footage of a mansion in the city, footage from someone's mobile phone from afar as a multiple of explosions tore the mansion down.

He knew that couldn't be the work of a human, it was the work of a Digimon. Serena really was in trouble.

...

Magnamon woke with a painful groan, feeling his entire body trembling as he tried to move. He opened his eyes a crack, his vision was messed up, it looked as though he was seeing the world through some kind of scope. The world seemed to pulse and move to the one side, then shift towards the other side and it took him a long time to realize he was in fact laying on his one side.

He thought he could hear the distant hum of humans and a siren, he looked upwards and found some humans walking towards an ambulance. He could see a few people closer to him, dressed in a fireman's uniform. He couldn't hear anything except for white noise, but he managed to make out what the two humans said by looking at their lips and sound began to return gradually as it was mixed in with the white noise.

"There are no injured human's on sight?" one human asked.

"That's right," the other nodded. "Only three Digimon, but there's no protocol for injured Digimon."

"So we just leave them?" the first human said.

The one human nodded again, then they both left and Magnamon felt some feeling returning to his limbs. He pushed himself up using his elbows, some debris fell from his back he felt his head swim as he watched as all the humans left and he spotted a yellow police barrier placed over the mansion's iron gates. No human gave him a second glance as they left, the white noise was gone and now he could birds in the tree's and the wind.

His body ached with every small movement and he realized he was better off being almost numb, he got to his feet and noticed the colour of the sky. It was a deep lavender colour, an indication that he had been unconscious for possibly all night or for a whole day. He decided to see how badly he was injured before doing anything else, he tried to keep in mind the fact that he was in the Human World and so he suffered damage differently.

In the Digital World no matter how badly damaged he was, his wounds would heal much quicker than they would in the Human World. On top of that he endured different wounds, at that very moment he found breathing difficult and he realized that he may have a collapsed lung. He clutched his side, and noticed how blackened, chipped and dented his armour was.

He felt something on his other side, he looked down and found a hollow piece of timber through his stomach. He observed the damage to his body further, embedded into his right leg was sharp glass and he felt the back of his head where his horns were, feeling more glass and some cuts. He looked around him quickly, a spasm ran up his leg and he collapsed to his knees.

"Serena!" he coughed violently. "D-Dorugoramon!"

There was a clatter as debris was moved, he snapped his head to the left and found Dorugoramon lifting her body out of the mountain of broken glass and bricks, she coughed loudly and some kind of powered rumble came out of her mouth. He hobbled to his feet and walked towards Dorugoramon, dragging his one useless leg and clutching his one arm.

He saw Dorugoramon's fur was covered in dust, there were signs of blood on her, but Magnamon saw no wounds and he realized it was Serena's blood. Dorugoramon's wings were sliced and torn, they lay beside her and trembled with pain. She was covered in thousands of small cuts and gashes, he found even she had a bit of a rafter stuck into her back.

He noticed something else, something frightening, "Your side!" he pointed at her right side where the fur and flesh was horrible scorched.

Dorugoramon checked her side, she nudged Magnamon and turned him around. "Your back has the same wound," she informed him. "Your armour is really dented too."

"Its from... where the blast hit... us," it pained Magnamon to speak. "Where's... Serena?"

Dorugoramon looked around her, she spotted a limp hand laying on the rubble, "There!" she gasped.

Moving as quickly as their weary bodies could, they dragged themselves towards the hand and Magnamon fell to his knees, brushing aside the remains of the mansion with his good hand and Dorugoramon helped by using her tail. They unearthed Serena and both felt their hearts sank, she lay limp and barely breathing, with her left side completely covered in a thick crimson stain.

Her wings were in a worse state than Dorugoramon's own, for some reason she was missing a shoe and her helmet had cracked, a thick split down the middle with the right half of the helmet stuck on her face and the left side on the floor. With her helmet broken she had reverted back to her human form, though her right arm was human it still had three spikes running up her arm and three golden claws. Serena's lip was swollen and gushing blood, there was a thick gash on the left side of her forehead and her left face was more red than pale peach.

Her clothes were all torn and stained in dirt, dust and blood and Magnamon realized that Serena had taken the blunt of the attack. Magnamon pulled the hollow piece of timber out of his stomach, he swore in pain, but decided to ignore the pain. He held her in his arms, lifting her head and gingerly touching the side of her face covered in blood. He knew that her inside's were probably damaged also, but he wasn't a doctor so he couldn't be sure how bad the damage was.

"Is... is she breathing?" Dorugoramon held back a sob.

"Barely," Magnamon answered. "We need... to get her... to a... hospital."

"We can't," Dorugoramon argued. "They'll ask her questions that she won't be able to answer as easily as she had about her kidnapping, Serena won't be able to lie her way out of this one, someone will connect the dots between her going to the city and her wounds."

"I don't care!" Magnamon screamed. "I'm thinking about Serena!"

"So am I!" Dorugoramon snarled. "She wouldn't want this!"

Serena opened her right eye, "Stuh-stop..." her hips bucked as pain ran a painful spasm coursed through her body, she cried out in pain. "Ngghhh, doh-don't... ughh... fuh-fight."

"Serena," Magnamon smiled with relief. "Don't talk, we'll get... you to... a hospital."

"Nuh-no," she craned her neck as a thick stream of tears ran down her face. "Nuh-no hospi-aahhh. I- I..." she began to sob from the pain. "I wuh-want meh daddeeee."

Magnamon hugged her to his chest, carefully cradling her fragile body and forced himself to his feet. Dorugoramon noticed Serena began to shake violently, each time she breathed she gave a small cry or moan of pain, and she felt tears in her own eyes as she watched her best friend suffer in such a way. Magnamon clenched his eyes shut, not wanting to see Serena in such a way.

"How are we... supposed... to get back... to Yamaki's when... neither of us are... in any state... to... fly?" he asked quietly.

"We'll find a way," Dorugoramon assured him. "Even if we have to walk."

Dorugoramon lifted a wing and gently ran it over the side of his face, he opened his eyes and looked at the comforting smile on her face.

"You love her, don't you?" she asked.

"Yes," Magnamon admitted. "But now in... the same sense as... Beelzemon... does, Serena's like... my little sister."

Dorugoramon headed towards the gate and had a good look around, she saw no humans, but she wasn't sure if that was an entirely safe way to take. She heard the rumble of an engine and spotted two lights in the distance, it quickly approached and soon a large white van was parked outside the iron gates and the wall that surrounded the grounds of the mansion's rumble and debris.

Dorugoramon frowned, the driver's side door opened and Yamaki hopped out of the cab. A smile came across Dorugoramon's face, she called Magnamon over just as Yamaki opened the iron gates, tearing down the yellow police tape as they creaked open. He saw Serena and ran towards her, his hands hovered over her body as he was unsure of whether he should embrace his tattered and bloody daughter. Eventually he decided not to and he hung his head, walking back towards the van and opening the back doors.

"I want you to hold Serena close to you, Magnamon," Yamaki ordered. "I don't want her getting hurt even more."

"I won't let... anything... happen to... her, Yamaki," Magnamon promised.

Yamaki smiled his thanks, knowing that Magnamon would keep his promise. Dorugoramon was first to enter the back of the van, with a grunt she climbed inside and curled up into a ball. She then lifted Magnamon inside using her tail, setting him down as he lay Serena down and she folded her wings around them both. Yamaki locked the back and had a quick glance around him, when he was sure no one had seen him he climbed back into the cab and drove away.

...

__

Monday Morning

Tom stared at Serena's empty desk, his face cupped in his hands and his mind plagued with guilt. He had never meant to upset Serena, he was so convinced that he was right he risked his and her friendship. Now Serena wasn't in school and he knew she had been injured in the fight against the Second Dragon, maybe if he and Gatomon had been there then maybe it may have made a difference.

Or maybe not.

He caught Pen glaring at him, he ignored the glare and promised himself he would see Serena. He hadn't managed to get in contact with her during the weekend, at that moment his mobile phone was in his desk and he continued to text and try to get in contact with her, he was starting to worry. When break time came he decided to ditch class, he knew it was wrong but he knew at times friends were more important than P.E.

He left his bag in class and he ran out of the class, his mobile in hand as he ran out of the school ground's and towards Yamaki's apartment. He stood outside the door and pressed the button for the _'Usagi'_ residence (Tom never quite knew why Yamaki used his real last name when he used a fake first name), there was a loud buzz and he waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" it was Magnamon, and he sounded as though he had been hit in the stomach by an iron ball.

"Its Tom!" he said. "Open up! Let me up!"

"Tom?" Magnamon repeated. "No way... am I opening... the door... for you!"

"Why are you talking like that?" Tom frowned.

"Its... none of your... business," Magnamon snapped. "If not... for you then... maybe Serena wouldn't... have been hurt!"

"Duh-don't say that," Tom cried. "What difference would Gatomon make?"

"We'll never know... now," Magnamon said coldly. "Serena... doesn't want to... see you anyway, she... said your a... _'selfish human'_."

"When did she start to consider us a separate species?" Tom asked. "She never called me a _'human'_ before as if I was some kind of thing that disgusted her."

"Maybe she... realized how selfish and... black hearted humans... can be," Magnamon told him.

"Yamaki is as much human as I am," Tom pointed out.

"So you... say," Magnamon answered simply.

By now Yamaki had decided that there should be no secrets in his life, small secrets he considered to be unimportant could now prove to be the difference in life and death, so he told Serena of his unique biological structure and DNA. Least to say she was shocked, but to her it explained why Fanglongmon had been so generous to her friends in assisting the Anti-Dragon Assistance.

"Please," Tom begged. "Just give me the chance to say I'm sorry."

"No," Magnamon replied. "Go... back to... school."

Tom stood there for a long time, stood outside the doors. At first he tried to pry the doors open, when that failed he tried to call Serena. A neighbour told him to go away, after that he decided to back to school. He wasn't stupid, he knew that Serena was still angry at him and chances were she was injured too, he couldn't bare the thought of seeing her injured and knowing that he may have made a difference.

He was late for class by fifteen minutes, he was given an after school's detention and he felt as though he deserved more than that.

...

At the end of school Tom miserably left class, dragging his bag along the ground and biting the nail on his thumb, trying to figure out a way to see Serena. He knew that she was annoyed at him, earlier that day she wasn't the one who told him to go away, it was Magnamon being his big brother over-protected self who was looking out for his little Digimon/human sister.

_Maybe I can have Gatomon sneak me into the apartment,_ Tom thought. _No... someone will see us._

As he came out of the school he found Pen waiting for him, a tight scowl on his face. Tom threw his bag over his shoulder and dug his hands into his pockets, frowning at Pen. Tom knew Pen was blaming Serena's absence on him, not that Tom blamed him, if Pen had gone into the city with Serena and then for some reason she wasn't in school that Monday then it did appear rather suspicious.

"Hey, Pen," Tom greeted casually. "You waited all this time for little ol' me?"

"Where's Serena?" Pen asked. "What happened to her?"

Tom lifted both his eyebrows, he wasn't expecting Pen to be so direct with his questioning. "Well..." he sighed. "I think Serena may have gotten hurt."

"What do you mean you _'think'_?" Pen asked. "You was with her Friday, what happened?"

"We got into an argument and I left," Tom answered. "I came home, talked to Shazz about Monday's homework when she must have told you I was back. I tried to phone Serena all weekend, but I only found out today that she was back."

Pen was silent for a few moments, he merely glared at Tom, seeing if he was lying and if the glare would make him confess to the real events. But when he saw that Tom didn't shy away from the gaze or confess anything he knew Tom was telling the truth. He decided to ask one more thing, "Where is Serena staying right now?"

...

Serena was thankful she was a Digimon/human hybrid, she wasn't aware of how quickly she could heal but thanks to her unusual DNA she found the pain was bearable and she was able to see straight. She was still badly injured, Magnamon estimated that she wouldn't be able to fight for at least a week or two. Her face was bandaged around the forehead, all of her left side was also completely bandage and her lip was still badly swollen.

With all of the blood cleaned off of her they all saw her wounds didn't look nearly as bad as what they did with the blood, with the blood covering her entire right side they all assumed she was very badly injured, but it just happened the gash wasn't that bad and most of the blood had come from all the cuts over her left side. Magnamon found her recovery amazing, he was amazed at how well she had dealt with the near death experience.

By now Magnamon and Dorumon were also healed, though Magnamon had spent a long time repairing his armour, his ability to speak had approved over just a couple of hours and Dorumon's wings were a little slow to heal. When Serena came around and was free from the pain she asked what had happened to her helmet, when she learnt what had happened to it she begged the others to retrieve it, but Yamaki wasn't sure the helmet would ignite her digital half because it was damaged.

Sat on the chair in the living room, Serena looked at her helmet and looked at the crack that had split down the middle. Yamaki had fixed it, but it had a clear jagged cut down the middle and he assumed that Serena was going to appear more human than Digimon due to the damage it had taken. Serena's left leg had suffered a lot of damage, some of the bones had broken but after being popped into the right place they had healed, though Serena often had painful spasm's.

Despite Magnamon's fears, Serena's inner organs were not that badly damaged in the brawl, she had two broken ribs and her left lung had been damaged, but her digital half quickly healed her. Magnamon stood beside her as she stared at her helmet, Dorumon by her feet and Yamaki sat on the settee, his chin cupped in his fist as he stared into space.

"What now?" Serena asked. "There's no way I can help you now, my injuries aren't going to heal for awhile."

"Its not going to take that long to heal," Magnamon told her. "Your healing is remarkable, you'll probably be well enough in a couple of days. But..."

"But what?" she looked up at him.

"I don't want to put you in a situation like that ever again," Magnamon replied. "I think your better off hiding on the side lines."

"No way!" Serena jumped to her feet, dropping her helmet to the floor as her hands curled into fists. "This is my fight, your can't keep protecting me! I'm not going to allow the Dragon's to get away with everything they've done, they've hurt me, my father, you, my whole family! They have to pay!"

"But you know how dangerous they are now!" Magnamon argued. "We almost died, by all means of logic we shouldn't have survived that attack, we're lucky to be alive! Next time we may not be so lucky, I can't guarantee your safety."

"You don't have to," Serena smiled. "You look out for yourself and I'll look out for myself..." she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Brother."

Magnamon's eyes widened, Yamaki turned to look at them and smiled at the tender look in his daughter's eyes. Serena wrapped her arms around Magnamon, hugging him tightly as he stood there with his eyes as wide as scarlet coloured saucers.

"I may have been in excruciating pain," Serena began. "But I heard everything you said, about loving me as if I was your own sister. Your my brother Magnamon and Dorumon is my sister, we're one big family now. I can expect you to be concerned, but you have to trust your little sister, okay?"

Magnamon smiled and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around his sister. "Alright," he said quietly. "But just take it easy for now, I don't you want you damaging your health."

A loud buzz interrupted the tender moment between the two, Yamaki got up and wore an annoyed look, he grabbed the phone from off the receiver and answered _'hello' _with a rude tone. Serena pulled away from her _'brother' _and looked towards her father, noticing he lost the annoyed the expression and nodded slowly. He turned to Serena, pressing the phone to his breast.

"Its Paul," he said. "Do you...?"

Serena nodded and took the phone, "Hey Pen," she greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I was worried when you didn't come into school," he answered. "Can you come outside? I need to talk to you."

Serena hummed, "Uh... hold one a minute," she placed the phone against her chest. "He wants to see me, can I go out?"

"How are you going to explain your injuries?" Dorumon asked.

"I'll say I got mugged," Serena answered. "That kind of thing always happens in the city, right?"

"Fine," Yamaki nodded. "But you have to explain what happened, and I don't want you out for long. We don't know where Darkdramon is, chances are he's returned to the Digital World, but we can't risk it."

"Alright," she returned the nod and pressed the phone to her one ear. "I'll be right down, hold on."

She quickly put the phone back on the receiver, Magnamon handed her a long jacket in order to hide the baggy tracksuit and pale yellow shirt she wore. She smiled her thanks and left, hobbling slightly as she painfully made her way down the stairs. It was fair to say that at the sight of her Pen freaked out, demanding to know what had happened.

"I got mugged," she answered with a shrug. "After I argued with Max I went out for a walk, to vent out my rage, someone saw me as a weak target and decided to steal my stuff- though I didn't have anything worth stealing."

"So it **is** Max's fault," Pen scowled. "If he had been there then you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Trust me," Serena said. "Whether or not Max was there wouldn't have made a difference, he would have gotten hurt as badly as me."

Pen looked unconvinced, Serena decided to change the subject and decided that they go for a walk. They walked in silence for roughly fifteen minutes, Pen leading the way with Serena close behind him, her hands behind her back as she tried to catch a glimpse at his face and try to understand the emotion in his eyes.

"Pen..." she spoke softly. "Can I say something?"

He stopped in the centre of the path and she noticed where he had led her, a quiet pathway between a thick lining of tree's, the leaves left sharp shadows that danced across both his and her face. His face, as handsome as it was, had a slight dark tone to it, she felt she had to be careful with her words. Serena looked away from him, finding his stare to intimidating and too icy cold.

"I feel like ever since I came back... you've been..." she glanced at him briefly. "I feel that things have changed between us, before I left I know that you and I weren't the best of friends, at times we were enemies. But since I came back you've been with me always, what's changed?"

"I guess I learnt a lesson," Pen admitted. "The whole, 'you never appreciate what you've got until its gone' really played a huge part in my life. I missed you, more than I expected and now..."

Serena sharply turned to look at him and placed a finger on his lips, his eyes widened in surprise and all Serena could do was stare at him sadly. She was hoping that he was going to surprise, that he wasn't going to repeat Max's mistake, but she saw by the look in his face that all he wanted was to confess his feelings for her.

"Don't," she ordered. "Paul, don't say what I think your going to say."

"But..." he smiled. "I love you."

Serena shook her head and removed the finger from his lips, "You don't love me," she said. "I don't love you, you just think your in love with me."

"I don't think, I know," he purred.

"Stop it!" she snapped. "I'm fed up with you boys, didn't you hear me? I said I'm not in love with you!"

"Have you even tried to feel love?" he clutched her shoulders. "Ever since you came home to us, haven't you tried to fit back in? Your so distant, you avoid us, why?"

Serena pulled away from him, "I haven't been avoiding you, I've been busy with other friends," she corrected. "I feel love, I love someone who is not you! What is with you? All boys seem to place their own emotions before that of another, your all selfish! Selfish! Selfish!"

"Selfish?" Pen repeated. "How dare you! I've patiently waited two years for your return!"

"You only missed me when I wasn't here and you only care about me now because of how attractive you find me," Serena jabbed a finger in his direction. "What if I was the same old Serena?"

Pen didn't answer.

"Exactly," Serena clicked her fingers. "You love with your eyes, if you see something you want you take it." Serena turned away from him, clenching her hands tightly into fists. "Ever since I came back you've all been gawking at me, judging me as if I'm some hunk of meat, I'm fed up of it!"

"I didn't mean it like that-" he began.

She whirled around and made a gesture to make it look as though she had zipped up her mouth, "I don't want to hear it!" she snapped. "You selfish creature! Leave me alone!"

Serena was surprised to hear the words that came out of her mouth, she sounded like Yumiko, and she honestly didn't care. She couldn't believe the burning hate she felt inside of her, ever since she returned she found she was glad to only be half human. So far they had all shown a selfish side, her mother, Max, Tom. They couldn't accept that she had changed and that she didn't what they wanted.

Serena walked away from him, feeling such a sense of relief that her heart was only one half human, if it was completely human then it would be blackened with greed, mistrust and hate. She didn't want those thoughts slipping into her mind, but ever since she returned to the Human World all humans had acted in such an awful way.

She wanted one human to prove her wrong, just one person to prove that not all humans were what she thought they were. If one could do that then she knew that she wouldn't end up like Yumiko, hating humanity for crimes that were decades old, she didn't want to end up like Yumiko, but she knew if things continued like this then her hatred for the humans would be as black as that of Yumiko's.

__

To Be Continued...


	8. Prisoners in Paradise

**Episode 8 **

**Prisoners in Paradise**

_The Digital World, A Day Earlier_

The doors to the main chamber of Darknessmon's castle burst open, the doors hitting the wall and sending cracks along the stone wall along with an echo that made a sound similar to a rusty gong. Darknessmon looked up from the scroll that lay on his lap, a fairly annoyed expression on his face, he had been enjoying the account written on the scroll. Darkdramon stormed towards him and Darknessmon couldn't help but show his annoyance by sighing.

Wingdramon and Goldramon shared an annoyed glare, knowing that Darkdramon had no right to burst into Lord Darknessmon's castle, especially with a look like _that_ on his face. Darknessmon decided to humour Darkdramon, he would hear his concerns and then easily deal with them. The others viewed Darkdramon as a bit of a drama queen, he could always make a small problem a big one.

"How did your mission go, Darkdramon?" he asked.

Darkdramon suddenly grinned madly, "Excellent, the targets are eliminated," the grin left his face and a dark, psychotic shadow replaced it. "But what I'm annoyed about is that there was another Dragon in the Human World!"

Chaosdramon frowned, his eyes squinting as he turned to look at Darknessmon. Surprisingly, the leader seemed unconcerned with the fact there was another Dragon in the Human World, he seemed angry with something else the insane Digimon had said.

"What do you mean, the targets have been _eliminated_?" Darknessmon hissed. "I didn't order for you to kill them!"

Darknessmon jumped off his throne and gripped Darkdramon by the neck, wrapping his claws around Darkdramon's throat, the claws digging into the hard flesh and Darkdramon gasped as the air was choked out of him. The other Dragon's stared at they're leader with fear in they're eyes, they had never seen they're leader use physical combat before and now that he was he was making a mega like Darkdramon regret what he had done.

"I never told you kill them!" he screamed. "I need Serena alive! She _has_ to be alive, I _need_ her! You idiot!"

Darknessmon threw Darkdramon; he crashed against the wall and smashed his head against the cold floor. Chaosdramon looked at the cracks on the wall that had been created when Darkdramon hit the wall, they spread across the wall like a spider's web and he wondered what kind of power Darknessmon was actually capable of. He had never fought, he had never needed too, so what exactly was the enigma capable of?

"Idiot! Moron! Imbecile!" Darknessmon spat. "I told you I needed her!"

"It was... for the best," Darkdramon croaked. "I..." he coughed and rubbed his throat. "If they were gone, then we... have fewer opponents."

Darknessmon charged towards Darkdramon, kicking him across the face, the force of the blow sent Darkdramon crashing into a pillar. Darknessmon breathed heavily, his body seething with rage as he raised his fist. Darknessmon suddenly swore, he lowered his fist and took several deep breaths.

"Idiot," he whispered.

Darknessmon returned to his throne, he fell lazily into his seat and picked up his scroll, returning his attention to what was written. Darkdramon got to his feet, still rubbing his neck and the others saw he was beginning to push his luck.

"Why was there another Dragon in the Human World?" he asked.

Darknessmon looked at him, he smiled oddly. Darkdramon removed his hand from his throat just as Strikedramon entered the chamber, she noticed the cracks along the wall and the scratches on Darkdramon's body and it didn't take her long to realize what had happened.

"What did I miss?" she laughed.

"Strikedramon," Darknessmon welcomed her with open arms and got to his feet. "I trust your trip was successful."

"Trip?" Darkdramon repeated. "Wait... she was the Dragon in the Human World?"

"Yes," Darknessmon nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Darkdramon screeched.

"Dear Strikedramon gather's intelligence," Darknessmon explained. "I rarely draft her into battle and you don't have to worry about her interfering with any of your battles, she's not the type to be where she's not needed."

Strikedramon bowed before Darknessmon, on her one knee as she handed him a folded up map. The other Dragon's eyed the map, Darknessmon smiled with glee at the sight of the old, yellowed item in her hand and quickly took it off her, unfurling it and his eyes lit up like a child in a candy store.

"What is that, my Lord?" Goldramon asked.

"A special map once possessed by the Demon Lord's," Darknessmon asked. "I heard tales of this when I was younger, but I never thought for a second that it existed and that it had been given to Serena of all people!"

"What does it do?" Wingdramon asked.

"It once served as the means for the Demon Lord's to keep track of the Royal Knight's," Darknessmon explained. "Now I can see that the map has been added to keep a track of us and Serena, Dorumon and Yamaki."

"Now that we have it we can trace they're movements," Goldramon smiled.

"Exactly," Darknessmon smiled.

"Not that we need too," Darkdramon muttered.

"What was that?" Darknessmon said through gritted teeth.

"What I mean is there aren't a lot of battles left for us to play," Darkdramon explained. "The numbers of our opponents have been cut... thanks to me."

"Are you so sure?" Strikedramon chuckled.

Darknessmon looked away from the map, starring at Strikedramon with confusion on his face. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Whether in the Human or Digital World, a Digimon becomes data once they are defeated," she explained. "I saw Magnamon with my own two eyes, Magnamon, Serena and Dorumon are alive. Check the map if you don't believe me."

Darknessmon let out a sigh of relief, slumping in his throne. "Excellent," he said. "This is great news for you Darkdramon, I won't have to punish you for your idiotic mistake."

Darkdramon frowned slightly, wondering what Darknessmon considered a punishment.

...

_The Human World, Now_

Yamaki stared out of the apartment's window, waiting for Serena to return. She had left to see Paul roughly half an hour ago, he didn't trust boys at that age, they were too unpredictable and too quick to react to the most little things. He just hoped that she was alright, he didn't doubt she could fend off a hormonal teen, but the thought of him even trying anything made him angry.

"Serena will be fine," Magnamon assured him. "She's probably just enjoying some time with the friend she hasn't seen in two years."

"Your probably right," Yamaki turned to face the golden Digimon sat on the sofa with Dorumon besides him. "I just can't help but worry."

Yamaki went to the kitchen, "Anyone want something to drink?"

"A cup of tea would be nice," Magnamon replied.

"Nothing for me, thanks," Dorumon answered.

Yamaki retreated into the kitchen, doing two cups of tea before returning to the living room with a bowl of mixed fruit he knew Dorumon couldn't resist to eat. As he set the bowl down and the cups of tea, Magnamon noticed a strange look on Yamaki's face and it was not the look of a worried father.

"Something wrong, Yamaki?" Magnamon asked.

"I've been wondering," Yamaki picked up his cup of tea. "When Serena left, how did you all take it? Serena's been meaning to ask you, but she won't, she's afraid to bring up bad memories."

Magnamon picked up his own cup of tea and blew on the hot liquid surface, "She could have asked," he said. "I'm more than happy to discuss it." Magnamon had a sip of his tea and took a deep breath, "Well, let's start with the moment we thought she was dead..."

...

_The Digital World, Six Months Earlier_

_The group watched up in horror as energy sparked along the outside of the huge sphere, multiply explosions could be heard and seen, the flames travelling upwards and the ashes falling downwards. Something came out of the flames and ash, shooting downwards like a shooting star and hitting the ground inches in front of them. The group covered they're faces as dust was brought up to the air, the sound of steam escaping to the atmosphere was heard._

_They waited for the dust to clear and they found the steaming object, Serena's mask dug deeply into the desert, covered in black soot and red blood. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened, Beelzemon fell to his knees and slammed the ground with his fists, screaming as tears ran down his face. Magnamon picked up the mask and looked upwards at the sphere, feeling tears form in his eyes as Dorugoramon and BlackDuftmon broke down._

_"Goodbye, Serena," he repeated._

_Magnamon couldn't believe it, Yamaki was right, Serena was gone. He couldn't believe he was crying, he had never cried before, he wasn't aware of the fact that he could cry. He didn't know Demon Lords could cry, then again, until Serena came onto the scene he wasn't aware Demon Lords had feelings._

_"She..." Magnamon swallowed the hard lump in his throat. "Serena might not be dead, she might be alive."_

_Beelzemon turned to him, the tears thick on his face, but the unbearable feeling of loss was gone from his face. He got to his feet, his knees seemed weak but he forced himself to move forwards and with shaking hands he took the mask from Magnamon._

_"Yer mehbeh beh right..." Beelzemon said. "Ah mean, 'tis doesn't mehn thaht she's gone."_

_The tears slowly stopped, a fresh sense of hope blossoming inside of each of them. Magnamon was right, the helmet didn't mean Serena was dead, it just meant that she was badly injured and was in the Human World. All that was left was for them to find her, all they had to do was get to the Human World._

_They left soon after, Beelzemon clutching Serena's helmet as they trudged through the sand. Magnamon's thoughts wondered to Yamaki as they walked in silence, he knew why Yamaki had gone to see Zhuqiaomon and he began to wonder if he should have done the same thing._

_Yamaki would stay with Serena in the Human World, trying to create a way for both of them to return home. He just hoped Yamaki was to succeed, he didn't know how long the others could cope without Serena or the idea of having lost her to a psychotic hybrid._

_Magnamon knew Beelzemon certainly wouldn't be able to cope, he would wait for the days to pass then he would grow impatient and worry. Magnamon knew Beelzemon well enough to know that he would blame himself for loosing Serena, he would think that if he had arrived sooner then maybe he could have defeated Yumiko himself and prevented the explosion._

_And when he did suddenly decide to go in search of Serena and find a way to the Human World he would do it without the help of the Digi-Gnomes, the Sovereigns, his fellow Demon Lord's or his friends in the Royal Knight's. Magnamon knew Beelzemon too well, it would seem, but he saw by the worried look on Dorumon's face that she was thinking the same thing._

_The only question left was what if Serena _was_ dead? What did they do then? What would Beelzemon do? It was a worrying thought, Magnamon realized that the thought of Serena dead made him so much more uncomfortable than the thought of her fighting to the death._

_If it made him uncomfortable and grief stricken, then how was it going to make Beelzemon feel?_

_..._

_Lilithmon elegantly glided into the hall of the Demon Lord's manor, Daemon and Lucemon either side of her. Lucemon had a look similar to worship in his eyes as his gaze lingered over her body, Daemon just seemed happy to be in the presence of another Demon Lord, for how often did they invite the hideous Lord out?_

_Lilithmon faked a laugh at one of Lucemon's poor jokes, the smile on her face forced, but Lucemon didn't seem to notice. Daemon noticed, he rolled his eyes at how oblivious Lucemon was to some of the most obvious of things. Daemon spotted a shadow on the staircase, he squinted his eyes as he thought hard and clicked his finger, summoning flames to each of the lanterns and the chandeliers._

_"B-Beelzemon?" he gasped._

_Lilithmon looked at the broken Demon Lord who sat hunched over the bottom of the stair case, his helmet on the floor besides him and another, scratched helmet in his hand. They had never seen Beelzemon without his mask before, it was one of the few private factors about him. They knew he only ever took his helmet off for showers or similar, what could have happened to make him remove his helmet?_

_"Beelzemon?" Lilithmon said warily, slowly approaching him. "What's happened?"_

_He looked up at her, the space around his eyes red from it appeared he had been crying. She felt something in the pit of her stomach, an uncomfortable drop that sent an uncharacteristic look of pain and grief across her face. Lucemon frowned, sharing a glance with Daemon._

_"Serena's gone," Beelzemon croaked. "So is Yumiko."_

_"How can they both be gone?" she practically screamed. "It was either one or the other, not both!"_

_"One killed theh other ahn now one of 'em is ihn theh Human World," Beelzemon explained._

_"Let's go then!" Lilithmon grabbed him by the forearm and dragged him to his feet. "We have to get her!"_

_"No," Lucemon ordered loudly._

_Lilithmon shot a glare at Lucemon, he remained stone-faced and stormed towards them, pulling Lilithmon away from Beelzemon._

_"Because of that girl I lost both of you to the Royal Knights and our mission is to kill the Knights!" he shouted, jabbing a finger in her direction. "You two have totally gone against everything we stand for! No more, I say. If Beelzemon wants her back, he can go, but he's not having my help or the Knight's!"_

_"Ih wasn't expectin' yer or anyone else's help!" Beelzemon snapped. "Ih'll get 'er back on my own!"_

_He stormed off up the stairs, grabbing his helmet and disappeared into the shadows of the top of the stairs. Lilithmon watched him leave, starring sadly him and fighting back her own tears. She pulled her arm from Lucemon's grasp, glaring at him as she headed up the stairs._

_Daemon looked from the scowl on Lucemon's face to Lilithmon, then to where Beelzemon had disappeared to. He just couldn't understand how one, insignificant girl could cause so much trouble. Then again, Daemon had no idea what love was, how could he understand?_

_..._

_Crusadermon screamed and wailed, holding a tissue in his one hand as he cried and sobbed over the loss of Serena. He was taking it worse than Beelzemon, it would seem. In the dinner hall of the Assembly, where it was quiet and where no one could disturb them at that hour of the day, Magnamon had broken the news to Crusadermon._

_BlackDuftmon was his shoulder to cry on and Dorumon played the Agony Aunt, and together the trio shared a cry over the loss of Serena. Despite the fact none of them knew if she was dead or alive, it seemed to them that if she wasn't there with them then it was the same as if she was dead._

_Magnamon observed the sobbing trio from the tunnelled entrance of the hall, trying to understand what Crusadermon was saying between sobs, and heard feet approach him. He recognized the sound and pace of the feet, Duftmon placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and sighed sadly._

_"You told Lilithmon?" Magnamon assumed._

_"She already knew," Duftmon answered. "Beelzemon told her."_

_"How is he?" Magnamon asked._

_"Lilithmon went to check on him, but he ran off somewhere," Duftmon answered. "Lucemon apparently was a real bastard when he heard Serena was gone, he told Lilithmon that she wasn't to help Beelzemon create a portal and that he wouldn't even help him."_

_"Nice guy," Magnamon said sarcastically._

_"Where do you think he could have gone?" Duftmon said absently. "He said he doesn't want our help, the Demon Lord's, he doesn't want anyone's help."_

_Magnamon squinted his eyes slightly, thinking of all the places Beelzemon could have run off too, his eyes widened after two short seconds of thinking. He ran down the corridor, not saying a word, Duftmon watched him leave then turned towards the crying women. He spotted Crusadermon, wondering if he should refer to Crusadermon as a 'man'._

_Probably not._

_..._

_Magnamon walked through the wreckage of the Japanese house, avoiding broken debris and shattered memories. He couldn't help but remember Serena, each square inch of each room held some part of her, and each memory made the grief worse. The house used to be such a place of happiness and a place where great memories were forged, now it was an empty, hollow husk of its former self._

_He found Beelzemon in the bedroom, on the dirt covered bed, hunched over once more with Serena's helmet in his hands and his on his head. He looked up when he heard Magnamon enter, a sad smile on his face. Magnamon shared the same sad look, but remained where he was. He saw that by the look on Beelzemon's face that he had been waiting for someone to come, he seemed pleased that it was Magnamon who found it._

_"Beel-" he began._

_"Ih need teh ask ya ah favour," Beelzemon cut him short._

_"Sure, anything," Magnamon said._

_"Ih've had a long time teh tink thin's through," Beelzemon began. "Ahn Ih realized that Ih can't live without Serena, so if she's... gone... Ih want yer to delete me ahn take meh data."_

_"What?" Magnamon gasped. "I can't do that!"_

_"Why not?" Beelzemon asked._

_"Because your my friend!" Magnamon argued._

_"Ahn as meh friend ya should do what it takes teh make meh happy," Beelzemon shot back. "Please, Ih'm sure yer'd ask theh same of meh if BlackDuftmon was gone."_

_Magnamon fell silently, knowing that Beelzemon was right. He sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head as his shoulders slumped._

_"Fine," he said in defeat. "But only if we know for definite that Serena is gone."_

_"Thanks," Beelzemon smiled. "Ih owe ya."_

_..._

_Present Day, Human World_

Yamaki was silent, his face a mask of shock as he tried to digest what he had heard. Despite all that had happened over the past two years he had never really warmed to Beelzemon, there was always something stopping him from fully accepting Beelzemon as part of his new family, but after hearing how much Serena meant to Beelzemon he felt acceptance.

"...Wow," was all he could say.

"Beelzemon loves Serena more than life," Magnamon said silently. "Literally."

The door to the apartment suddenly burst open, Serena stormed in and marched towards her room. Yamaki and Magnamon sensed something was wrong, Dorumon frowned slightly and jumped from her seat, walking towards Serena.

"Seren?" Yamaki called. "Is everything alright?"

"No!" she snapped, her face dark. "I... I..." she began to cry. "I just want Beelzemon back!"

Yamaki jumped to his feet and bolted towards her, pulling her into an embrace as she sobbed into his chest. Yamaki looked at Magnamon, raising both of his eyebrows sadly, hoping for some form of support. Magnamon frowned slightly, then shared a look with Dorumon.

Dorumon nodded once, knowing what Magnamon wanted and slowly crept out of the house. Serena didn't notice the exchange, too annoyed at human boys and too sad at the loss of Beelzemon to know anything else but that she was missing Beelzemon.

_To Be Continued..._


	9. Here In Your Arms

**Episode 9 **

**Here In Your Arms**

_The Human World_

There were cold stains on her face, the shadows of tears that had left bitter cold patches on her face and Serena could feel nothing in that moment but an overwhelming crushing sensation. Her throat seized up, feeling as if someone was crushing it and every time she tried to speak a burning feeling would devour her. Her eyes were red and blood shot, her limbs cold and in that moment pathetically frail.

She was a weak, broken and fragile husk of her former self. Serena just wanted to be someone else, she just wanted to put her mask on and be Lady NeoDevimon once more. Be someone else, have someone else's problems, someone else's DNA so she wouldn't have to worry about the Six Dragon's, hormonal teenage boys and the loss of the only love of her life.

"Serena?" there was a sharp rap at her door, her worrying father. "Honey, open the door, please?"

Serena tried to speak, but the burning sensation enclosed around her throat like fiery talons and all she managed was a pitiful croak. There was a new voice at the door now, Magnamon who spoke slowly, as if trying to pick the right words. Which was understandable; it wasn't good to send someone like Magnamon in to assist a teenage girl going through difficulties involving boys.

But despite his inexperience Magnamon was trying his best, and Serena couldn't ask for any more than the love of a brother who was only trying to help his broken sister. The love of a brother... almost as strong as a love from a father, but both were no where near as strong as the love given onto someone by the true love of ones life.

"Seren..." he spoke up. "Can we talk? Or... does your throat hurt too much from crying?"

There came no reply, Magnamon turned to Yamaki and ordered him away with a shake of his head. Yamaki hesitantly obeyed, taking Dorumon into the kitchen where they began to brew some tea. Magnamon pressed his back to the door and slid to the floor, sitting on his backside and leaning the back of his head to the door. He slowly twiddled his thumbs, taking a deep breath and swallowing hards as he picked the right words.

"Do you remember the day we met?" he continued. "When you woke from your coma and I asked for you to forgive me, from the moment I hit you I became in debt to you. Do you remember what you asked from me?"

_"All I want is for you to be my friend..."_

Serena swallowed hard, making small raspy noises as she managed to croak out a word, "Yes."

Magnamon smiled as he heard the croak, "Good," he nodded. "I think I've managed to fulfil the deal of our contract, don't you agree? I think we need to make a new deal."

Serena hesitated to answer, after long moments of silence she asked, "What kind of deal?"

"Didn't we agree that we are brother and sister?" he reminded her. "Our new pact should be that we should officially announce our new sibling love, and as siblings we take care of each other, which means whenever you're upset I'm your shoulder to cry on."

Serena smiled lightly, "Alright," she said softly. "Deal, we're officially brother and sister."

"Can I come in then?" Magnamon pursued.

"The door's not even locked," Serena replied.

Magnamon frowned slightly; he jumped to his feet and entered the room. He found himself walking into a bomb site, her clothes had been ripped from the draws and strewn across the floor and bed, her posters torn down, her plushie's thrown all over the place. He was glad he had not entered the room during her venting, a woman's scorn was something he had learnt to fear and was no willing to experience it once more.

Serena sat up to look at him, the dried up remains of tears clear on her pale face and she held to her bosom a small Impmon plushie which seemed damp with her tears. Magnamon went to sit beside her, rubbing and squeezing her shoulder assuredly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Boys... are dorks," Magnamon summarised. "Well, _human_ boys. You have to understand that they don't appreciate that human/Digimon hybrids could do either way, you can like humans or Digimon's but you went for a Digimon- and that Digimon isn't going to give up until he finds you."

Serena smiled, but her gaze remained facing down and there was a dead look in her eyes. "I know..." she said. "But I..." she burst into a fresh spray of tears. "I just miss him **so** much."

Magnamon outstretched his arms, Serena dropped the plushi and flung her arms around him. She cried into his neck, squeezing him for comfort as she cried and sobbed and begged for life to give her break. All she asked for was one little thing, one favour after all her suffering and labour, one life-line in the tempest of her life.

...

_The Digital World, The Ice Ridges_

Beelzemon couldn't believe how far he had travelled in search of a portal, how come the portals seemed to appear where ever he wasn't? Why was life so unfair to him and only him? Sometimes Beelzemon just felt like the world was against him, especially now when Serena wasn't there to tell him different. If she was there she would say that he was silly for thinking such a thing or she would hold his hand and reassure him.

He had travelled so far within days, he put it down to lack of sleep, never resting, never stopping to eat and deriving his strength from his determination to find Serena. Even though he was so tired he was afraid to stop, he feared the image of him dying and being buried by the unsympathetic snow. If he died then he couldn't be with Serena, and that terrified him. He now feared his own reflection, to observe the skinny and frail individual who relentlessly drove on ahead in search of the doorway to heaven.

When he reached that doorway he would throw the door open and hold his angel close, now it was just a matter of finding that door. He trudged through the snow, forcing his weary legs onwards despite the aching pain which insisted he stop. He used to love the Ice Mountain's, most probably because he liked the isolation the mountain's provided and he used to spend most of his time there.

But then Serena came into his life and he moved to the desert and then the forest, he had Serena with him always and the some of the Royal Knights became his closest friend. Now the idea of isolation, of being alone so far away from others, sent a harsh chill through his bones. He was sure he still knew the area fairly well, though he had taken the wrong turn once or twice. He put his inability to follow his memory clearly down to the lack of nourishment.

As he walked he came to a huge and oval shaped frozen lake, with tall and thick forest surrounding the idyllic frozen waterway. He recognized this area at least, he had been there many times before for a camping trip and to just get away from the Demon Lords. Before the Ice Ridges were in fact the Ice Ridges they were just a simple mountain range and the lake before him was once known as the Great Sovereign Lake.

But that was many years ago, back when the Digital World was just starting and when the climate was very different. When the climate changed and the Ice Ridges formed the lake froze over, it was now the thickest piece of ice around and no one had ever been able to break it, not even the Digimon who were meant for drilling. Now it was known as the Great Frozen Sovereign Lake, even though Beelzemon was never sure on why it was known as the Great Frozen Sovereign Lake, he had been told it was something to do with a myth about on how one of the sovereign's was born within the lake.

He couldn't remember which sovereign it may have been, though he was fairly certain it was Baihumon. He remembered the story well, that back when the world was fresh and the other sovereigns were aging, it was decided that a new sovereign was necessary to help the others if Fanglongmon was unable to offer a assistance. So Fanglongmon dug deep into the tallest of the mountains, digging deep into its core where he found an egg made entirely out of ice.

The egg was placed deep within the lake, which by that point was only cold and not even with a layer of frost. Fanglongmon waited patiently for the egg to hatch, when it did the sheer chill of the egg caused the lake to freeze over as Baihumon burst forth from the water and took his place amongst the ranks of the sovereign's. It was also rumoured that if one was to get through the ice and locate a piece of the egg shell, they will be granted either a wish from Fanglongmon or achieve great power.

There was once a time when Lucemon believed the tale and he set Beelzemon, Lilithmon and Belphemon to try to break the ice and try to retrieve a piece of the shell. Of course, they had no luck with that particular task and returned home only after a few hours - though they did take several detours home through a couple of pubs before returning- and it was at that time Beelzemon fell in love with the Ice Ridges.

He stepped onto the ice of the frozen lake, breathing out heavily as he allowed himself to catch a few breaths and then continued along his way. He heard a sound over the wind, playful chatter perhaps? It was hard to hear over the howling of the wind and he didn't completely trust his senses at the moment, he knew never to trust one's senses or even anyone else's when they lacked sleep and proper nourishment.

He stopped, looking up from where he thought he heard the noise. Beelzemon squinted, trying to see through the hail of snow and ice. He frowned, he was positive he could see a smiling face within the sleet. Then again, it could be his eyes playing tricks on him. Something came forwards, appearing to emerge from nowhere and a Digi Gnome flew forwards. The snow and sleet stopped the moment the Digi Gnome appeared and Beelzemon felt a grimace come across his face.

The Digi Gnome giggled and smiled, a cheery little omen in the midst of all Beelzemon's troubles. Normally a Digi Gnome only annoyed him, on this occasion it was starting to piss him off. He was not in any condition or mood to be bothered by some flying, giggling creature.

"Go away!" Beelzemon snapped. "Ih don't need ya right now! Ih want peace an' quiet!"

It fell silently instantly, its arms slouching as it cocked its head to one side and lost the smile as it grew confused. Digi Gnome's weren't used to having their presences dismissed, any other Digimon would be glad to see it in hope of achieving a wish. Beelzemon glared at it, it didn't seem to recognize the threat or the anger emitting off him in thick waves. It suddenly burst into a warm smile and clapped.

"Listen," he snarled. "Ih don't need ya help, Ih'm goin' tah get tah thah Human World on meh own."

It shook its head, Beelzemon felt a vein twitch in his forehead and he resisted the urge to hit the creature. He raised a shaking fist, but controlled his anger and so only threatened the Digi Gnome by waving the fist in its face.

"Ih don't need ya help!" he shouted.

His roar echoed along the Ice Ridges, rolling off the mountains and the trees. The Digi Gnome still giggled, he stared at it for several long seconds, he saw it wasn't going to give up and so he lowered his fist. He sighed heavily, kicking some snow.

"Ih can do tis mehself..." Beelzemon insisted.

It looked at him as if to say, _'Oh really?'_ It laughed in a mocking way, Beelzemon translated it as _'Yeah, I can see you've been having a lot of luck on your own'_. Beelzemon sighed again, realizing that maybe he needed to get on his knees and ask for help. While pride was not the sin he was assigned too, he knew he was just as prideful as Lucemon, maybe more so on many occasions.

Not asking for help, when he knew it was being offered, was selfish. It was unfair of him to not get help, especially when Serena was waiting for him and she couldn't wait forever. Beelzemon knew - _hoped_ - Serena would never cheat on him, but there were so many boys in the Human World - _human boys _- who could offer her many things he was unable to offer her. Such as a family.

The Sovereign's wouldn't help him, nor would the Royal Knight's or even the Demon Lord's. But now he had an opportunity to get to that door, to hold his angel once more, and he was resisting the help offered. Why was that? Was his pride so much of a problem that he was unable to even ask for assistance? How stupid was he if he just couldn't bite his tongue and get on one knee, it's not that hard.

Beelzemon knew what he had to do, he had to ask for help, no matter how much it pained him to spit out the words. He had to swallow his pride, get on his knees, bow his head and ask for help. He got onto one knee, as he still had enough pride not to get on both, and bowed his head ever so slightly. The Digi Gnome watched him curiously, Beelzemon sighed for the third time and clasped his hands together in a pray gesture.

"Ih can't believe Ih'm doin' tis..." he bit his lower lip. "Please can ya take meh tah teh Human World?"

It nodded happily, bobbing up and down as it did so and clapped its own cute hands once. The ground beneath Beelzemon suddenly gave way, he fell through the circular opening and sunk into the freezing water. Beelzemon tried to swear, but swallowed an uncomfortable jug of icy water and fell beneath the dark blue water. The Digi Gnome joined him in the gloom and placed an item into his jacket, his eyes rolled into the back of his head before he see what was in his pocket and he was gone.

...

_The Human World_

Serena had fallen asleep in Magnamon's arms after crying for the better half of the day, he had set her beneath the blankets and wiped the few drops of tears from her eyes, before placing the Impmon plush beneath the crook of her arm and allowed her to rest. She certainly needed it. He cleaned her room up a bit, before he crept out of the room, quietly closing the door as he went.

Yamaki sat in front of the television with the fifth cup of tea in his hand, Dorumon curled up around his feet and enjoying her own mug of warm tea. Magnamon sat himself down, letting out a deep puff of breath and felt drained. Yamaki laughed at him, trying to keep the smug smile off his face.

"I recognize that look," Yamaki said. "I had a similar look on my face when Serena was younger, when she became curious of the opposite gender. Young girls drain a lot of energy out of you."

"I know that now," Magnamon huffed. "I'm just very thankful that Digimon cannot reproduce, I won't be able to last with children."

Yamaki chuckled lightly, then shot a glance to the chipped NeoDevimon mask on the seat beside Magnamon. The red eyed Digimon caught the glance, he followed Yamaki's line of sight and picked up the mask. Dorumon frowned at the sight of the broken mask, she remembered Serena, blood soaked and crying, when the mask broke. She faced her direction down, not wanting to remember that painful loss.

Serena was half human and half Digimon, she had still healed at the same pace as to be expected from a hybrid and still maintained her powers. Did that mean Serena maintained her human side now whenever she changed now? It seemed possible, the mask had not regenerated or even tried to fix itself like normal Digimon armour. But if that was so, did that mean Serena was at a disadvantage as she had all her human weakness' now.

"How will Serena fair in the next battle?" Magnamon mused. "We barely got away when we fought Darkdramon, as much as I hate to admit it I think we're out-powered."

"But we still took down one of them," Dorumon protested. "We can do this."

"We don't have enough power!" Magnamon snapped. "Its three of us and five of them! If that stupid human had not upset Serena we would have Gatomon, but he allowed the thing in his trousers to control him and now we're unable to carry out our duty."

"Magnamon," Yamaki frowned disapprovingly. "Are you trying to insinuate that we're all going to die?"

"Its a possibility," Magnamon replied.

Yamaki's frown deepened, "The problem is that we're rushing into danger," he said. "You're not giving yourselves time to analyse the situation. You may have been able to defeat Darkdramon, if not for Serena and Dorumon interfering with the fight you may have come up with a plan."

"No," Magnamon disagreed. "If I couldn't beat him how could Serena or Dorumon? What we need is more help, but we can't return to the Digital World to get it because we only have one way of returning."

"Then..." Dorumon looked downhearted. "What do we do?"

A silence fell over them, none of them able to think of any plan sufficient enough to use and Yamaki just wished he was smart enough to think of a plan.

...

Beelzemon knew he was lying on his side and in his hand he felt something. Groaning, he opened his eyes and found a lush green leaf in his hands. Beelzemon frowned, wasn't he just in the Ice Ridges? Where the hell was he and how had he got there? He heard the sound of a bird in the distance, his head snapped up as the cry ricocheted off the thick trees and echoed along the forest.

Beelzemon finally grasped the reality of what had just happened; he had asked for help and now he was in the Human World.

A squirrel ran towards him and sniffed his face. Beelzemon's face burst into a smile and he jumped to his feet, throwing his arms into the air and gave out a triumphant cry of _"Yes!" _The squirrel squeaked in alarm and ran towards the safety of a tree, watching the strange Digimon as he jumped up and down and cried out in pure, uncontained joy. The item given to him by the Digi Gnome momentarily forgotten.

...

Magnamon had suddenly grown still, freezing as if someone had pressed _'Pause'_. Neither Dorumon nor Yamaki had noticed, for both of them were still deep in thought as they tried to fashion a plan worthy for this situation. They had defeated Reptiledramon and while they had not seen him in days they could assume he was gone, but they knew they had only defeated him because he was bait.

The leader of the Dragon's wanted Reptiledramon to be defeated in order for him to learn how they operated, Darkdramon would not be so easily defeated because he knew how they operated and behaved. The only thing that seemed like a reasonably good idea would be to change tactics, think of plans before hand and then carry out those actions. But that plan had a problem, even if they could change tactics these new ones would be of no use against the Dragon's they knew nothing of.

Magnamon got to his feet and he walked to the window, his gaze settled on the forest in the distance and Dorumon watched him curiously. She approached him and stared at him, his gaze fixated ahead at the timbers of brown and the bony extensions covered in green. She knew her senses were not as keen as his, he had been trained to detect digital presences. Had he detected a Dragon?

"Is... is something wrong, Magnamon?" Dorumon asked.

"I sense a new presence," Magnamon replied emotionlessly.

"A new Dragon?" Yamaki pressed as he leaned forwards in his chair.

"No..." Magnamon shook his head. "This is a familiar presence."

Magnamon's eyes widened as realization struck him, he opened the window and jumped out a second later. Dorumon gave a startled cry of surprise and watched as he glided with quick haste, she frowned and wondered what exactly Magnamon was up to. Yamaki climbed out of his chair and headed to Serena's room, opening the door and glancing in to his baby girl who's face scrunched up with pain as nightmares plagued her.

...

Beelzemon had come to familiarize himself with his surroundings, he recognized the forest as the exact same one he had chased Serena in and the place where he had first entered the Human World. As he walked along the grass he decided to accept that asking for help didn't make you anymore less of a Digimon, it just meant you was willingly to bow your head - no matter how awkwardly - to get what you want.

Though he decided that he would never, _ever_, tell Lucemon or any of the other Demon Lords what he had to do. It would only mean many, many years of constant teasing at the hands of Lucemon. Lilithmon would probably commend him for being so selfless, but secretly snigger at him. Even though he and she were friends, Lilithmon was still a bitch.

Beelzemon came to the tree house Serena had been hiding in, gazing up at it he couldn't help but smile at the memory. Even though there was so much terror on her face, even though Beelzemon was there to capture her for business purposes only, that moment still served as the moment that defined him. Serena was utterly terrified of him, yet looking back he realized that even then he found she was beautiful.

Serena was the thing in his life that reminded him of who he was, before she was there he saw himself as nothing more than a gluttonous Demon Lord who waged war against a group of Knights he knew nothing about. Then Serena was there, the moon appeared from behind the dark grey clouds, and he saw there was more to him than even he thought or knew. Beelzemon now knew more about himself, he knew he was rude, pig-headed, more often than not selfish but he was also kind, could commit some incredibly selfless acts and disobeyed orders if it meant he could see Serena once more.

He knew Lucemon would have his head when he returned, but he didn't care, because when he did return he would have Serena with him. Beelzemon looked away from the tree and stopped, wondering how exactly he was going to find her. He didn't even know where she lived. He decided he would just act as he always did, with his gut feeling and instict. He would just keeping walking, keep moving forwards.

"Lost, are we?" asked a welcoming voice.

Beelzemon looked up and squinted at the glare of the sun. The rays of yellow light glimmered off the golden armour clad Digimon that hovered in the air above him, Beelzemon smiled as Magnamon crossed his arms over his chest and returned the smile. Beelzemon noticed how tired Magnamon looked and in return the Royal Knight resisted commenting on how much weight his friend had lost, but both of them could agree that both of them looked a little worse for wear.

"Magnamon," Beelzemon grinned. "Any idea how Ih git tah Serena?"

...

Serena felt something on her arms, something sharp digging into her flesh but something familiar also. Serena gave let out a soft noise, exhaling some air as she pushed herself using her elbows. She wondered how long she had been sleep for, it must have been a long time, she saw outside that the sky had darkened. She felt better after a few hours of sleep, but the nightmares were just as bad as reality.

Serena yawned and tried to work the creaks out of her stiff joints, as she swung her arm back she felt something on her arm once more. Something with a sharp point but also soft. Serena froze up as the sharp point skimmed up along her neck and down her arm, hot breath appeared by the side of her neck and she knew who the person was. But she couldn't believe it, afraid that if she accepted it the reality would only shatter the last remaining glimmer of hope within her.

But that was impossible, Beelzemon was in the Digital World. So she was dreaming, that had to be it, but dream or not she welcomed it with open arms. Serena slowly turned her neck, coming face to face with Beelzemon who smiled at her and took her face between his hands. He was so cold and she was pretty sure he was covered in water, but dreams didn't necessarily have to make sense.

"Seren..." he purred. "I've missed ya so much."

"Bee..." Serena rubbed her cheek against his hands. "What a nice dream."

He frowned, "Um... _dream_?" he asked her. "Serena, tis is real, Ih'm real."

"Ri-ght," she chuckled. "That's exactly what a dream Beelzemon would say, because a dream Beelzemon would know just how lonely I am and is here to comfort me."

"Ih've been lonely too, hun," Beelzemon removed his hands from her face and wrapped them around her, pulling her forwards so she sat upon his lap. "Ih'm real, Ih'm lonely and Ih'm here tah make ya forget 'bout thah loneliness."

Beelzemon kissed the three set of scars on her cheek, kissing her so softly it was like a feather skimming the flesh on her face. Serena felt a spark across her face, a flicker of warmth that danced across her face in sharp little electrical surges that made her heart skip a beat and a light returned to her eyes. Serena's body loosened, like a stiff rod had been removed from her back and she sunk into his arms. Beelzemon kissed her cheek again, then the side of her mouth and then kissed her on the mouth.

It was like tasting sunshine. Like water in a desert. Morphine for the pain. The moon was back.

...

_The Digital World_

Darknessmon stirred from his sleep, his head lulled to the side as he opened his luminous yellow eyes to greet the new day and he grimaced ever so slightly. In his groggy state he slurred, "Beelzemon," and glared ahead as if he could see the Demon Lord before him and show him just how much he despised him. He wondered how long he had been sleeping for, normally he never got no more than twenty or so minutes of rest. The Dragon's always burst in, asking him questions or to just bug him.

The door to his chambers opened, the heavy creak of old doors as they swung open and the loud _'thud'_ as they hit the wall. Strikedramon and Darkdramon entered and presented themselves before him. They knelt on one knee and lowered they're heads to the ground, closing they're eyes as they did so. Darkdramon sat up straight in his thrown, trying not to look as though he had been sleeping. He didn't want them to think he was lazy, or worse, not getting enough sleep.

If Strikedramon knew then she would order him to his room for his rest or keep nagging him until he attained the appropriate number of hours of rest.

"The Demon Lord Beelzemon has left this world, my lord," Strikedramon informed. "From what I was told, he had the assistance of a Digi-Gnome. He fell through the Great Frozen Sovereign Lake, but when my informant went to check on him the hole in the ice had already re-formed."

"Pesky little bastards, those Digi Gnome," Darknessmon commented. "But why are you telling me something I already know?"

"You know?" Darkdramon looked at him surprised. "How?"

Darknessmon yawned, "I'm far too tired to go into depth how I am capable of such a thing," he replied. "It's easier to surmise that Serena and I have a connection, it's not strong enough for us to locate one another's location but I can feel her. She feels happier, much happier than she has been in months. It was easy to guess why."

"So what is our next course of action?" Strikedramon inquired.

"I believe a conclusion of your fight is in order, don't you think so Darkdramon?" Darknessmon smiled.

Darkdramon grinned gleefully, rubbing his hands together. Darknessmon suddenly jabbed a talon in his direction, Darkdramon's face dropped when he saw the venemous look in his leader's yellow eyes.

"But," Darknessmon continued. "If you lay one hand on Serena, if she breaks one nail, looses even one lock of hair, I swear I will destroy you."

Darknessmon lost the smile and Darkdramon felt an overwhelming presence looming over him, the air grew stale and heavy and he fell too his knees as he felt sweat drip down his face and he gasped deeply. He struggled to breathe, gasping for breath as the shadow over him pulled him further down so he was on his hands and knees. He tried to speak, to promise Darknessmon he would behave, but all that came out was streams of saliva.

Strikedramon didn't look up.

She still obeyed her lord, she did not look at him and she would never do anything to upset him, because she knew the consequences of her actions. She just wondered if Darkdramon would one day learn his lesson. Darkdramon fell onto his face and saliva dripped from his mouth, he trembled on the floor and tried to find the strength to get up. Darknessmon jumped from his throne and left the chamber.

He climbed the spiralling staircase upwards to the highest chamber, to his room where he opened the huge doors and entered the square room with its oversized bed and balcony. It was almost empty inside, except for a large bed with hanging velvet which was scarcely used. He approached the bed and gazed down at the black dress that lay on the sheets, he already saw some dust gathering and he ground his teeth.

He turned away from the dress to another item set on a bed, on a silk pillow. A silver crown sat atop the pillow, it appearing to be made from intertwining twigs and jewels that came together in a point which held a raven coloured, diamond shaped crystal. He picked it up carefully, holding it by his fingertips and being sure not to smudge it, not to get even a speck of dirt on it.

A smile came across Darknessmon's face and he sighed, feeling so much more better as he imagined his princess wearing the crown as he tore apart the Human World and turned Beelzemon into a thousand tiny particles. Before he conquered the world he would conquer Serena, make her swear her love, her loyalty and her life to him and then destroy Beelzemon particle by tiny particle.

How sweet it would taste, to hold the Demon Lord by the throat and rip the moon from his world.

_To Be Continued..._


	10. The Heavens Rain Death

**Episode 10 **

**The Heavens Rain Death**

_The Human World_

The Anti-Dragon Resistance that was stationed in the Human World had all gathered outside of the wreckage that was once a beautiful mansion. The yellow police tape still hugged the gates of the mansion, but no one came near the area since the explosion. People feared that a pack of wild Digimon lived there, causing destruction and misery which ever way they fancied.

At least part of that rumour was true; the Dragon's were causing so much damage in their leader's quest for conquering the Human World, the poor town would soon be unable to pay for all of the repairs needed. But the other part of the rumour was false, since the paramedics caught sight of Magnamon they believed he and some other Digimon were responsible for the destruction, and Magnamon did not take kindly to such accusations.

It was early next morning did they go to the city. Dorumon was much better than what she was, her wounds were almost completely healed and Serena was back to her old self. Her skin had back its glow, she slept better and her breathing had returned to its regular flow. They had decided it was best for them to return to the city once Serena and Dorumon were back at they're physical peak, Magnamon feared a journey would cause too much strain on them.

"Darkdramon did this?" Beelzemon gasped. "How thah hell did ya survive?"

"Honestly, we have no idea," Magnamon replied. "But we had to show you this, Bee, so you could understand how dangerous these Dragon's are."

"Tey haven't done anythin' like 'tis in thah Digital World," Beelzemon informed them. "Why here?"

"Yumiko wanted to destroy the Human World in order to help the Digimon evolve," Serena explained. "The new leader is using the Dragon's to distract the Royal Knights in the Digital World in order to carry out his or her plans here. It seems whoever is in charge is starting their conquest here."

"It makes sense," Yamaki agreed. "Whoever is in charge will want to keep the Knights busy while they plan they're conquest of the Human World."

"So what do we do about it?" Dorumon asked. "We can't return to the Digital World just yet and we can't defeat the stronger Dragon's."

"We'll just have to try," Serena said. "We'll get stronger, we'll learn new moves and when the Dragon's show their faces around here again we'll take them out."

Beelzemon smiled and wrapped his arm around Serena's shoulder, "Tat's thah spirit babe," he cheered. "Thah Dragon's ain't goin' tah stop us."

"Hold on," Yamaki said. "We can't get cocky, and we can't underestimate the Dragon's. You did that last time and look what happened."

He gestured to the ruined remains of the mansion, a disapproving look on his face. Serena could understand why he was annoyed at them, he was worried about Serena getting hurt as she did last time. Yamaki did not ever want to see Serena so hurt and afraid ever again, he wanted her to be safe. If they overestimated their own skills then all that would be accomplished would be further injury.

"Pride Goethe before a fall," Yamaki recited.

"Dad," Serena sighed. "We know, okay. We're not stupid, we know that the Dragon's aren't weak."

"Then stop treating them like they are!" Yamaki snapped. "They are dangerous, and unless you learn that you cannot win."

Beelzemon began to argue, Serena squeezed his forearm as if to warn him not to say a word. Her father was right, when they fought Reptiledramon they only managed to attain a victory because he was weaker than them and outnumbered. The Dragon's new leader wasn't like Yumiko, she rushed her plan and decided to capture Serena as soon as she could and because of that she lost. She didn't try to grasp a better understanding of Serena, perhaps if she did then maybe Serena wouldn't have defeated her.

"Your father is right," Magnamon said. "We'll have to learn about these Dragon's, understand them. Only then can we win."

"I'd rather jus' kill 'em," Beelzemon said. "Jus' jump inta battle an' see what happens."

"We'll never win like that," Dorumon said disapprovingly.

"She's right," Serena agreed. "We'll have to be smart, or else we'll loose."

Beelzemon pouted, he clearly hated having to wait around. He had been waiting long enough, waiting six months for an opening to have Serena back in his arms. Having to wait much longer for a chance to repay the ones who caused Serena so much pain was almost unbearable, he wanted to wring Darkdramon's neck right there. But he knew deep down they were right, of course they were.

Beelzemon was just too set in his old ways, he was too used to the Demon Lord's way of going to a battle. Lucemon would think of a plan and they would stick to it, from there Lucemon couldn't care whether Beelzemon fought like he was told or just ran into battle with his eyes closed. Maybe it was okay for a little change.

"Alright," he sighed. "We'll do it Yamaki's way."

Serena smiled at him and kissed the knuckles on his left hand, his face slowly broke into a tender smile. They headed back to town, the white van Yamaki had rented was now the group's main means of transportation and they were thankful they were able to inconspicuously travel between the town and city.

...

During the trip back Yamaki discussed something that had been niggling at the back of Serena's mind for some time, her duty to stop the Dragon's had prevented her from living any kind of normal teenage life. Not that it really concerned Serena, she knew she was not part of that world and neither was Yamaki. Neither of them wanted to co-exist alongside humans, they were too used to the company of Digimon.

"Wait, let me get this straight," Serena said. "You _don't_ want me to go to school?"

"That's right," Yamaki nodded. "I thought having you go to school would be good for you, it would stop you from becoming lonely. But now I see it only seems to cause you distress. Besides, you miss enough school as it is that there seems to be no point in you even going."

"At least I won't have to see Paul or the others again," Serena approved. "I'll miss Shazz, but having to say goodbye to her for a second time would just be too hard."

"So you're okay with it?" Yamaki asked.

Serena nodded.

...

In the back of the van Beelzemon, Magnamon and Dorumon had been silently listening to Yamaki and Serena's conversation. It was in fact Magnamon's plan that Serena no longer attended school, while it was a shame she would not be getting a full education there was little need for one when she returned to the Digital World. Though once back in the Digital World they were not sure what was to become of Serena.

Beelzemon had been quiet since climbing into the back of the van, Magnamon was a little worried and wondered if he was upset about something. Magnamon knew Beelzemon was determined to save Serena this time, he couldn't afford to loose her a second time and he most probably wanted to prove he had the capability to protect her. After loosing her to Yumiko Magnamon remembered how much pain it had caused Beelzemon, a second loss would probably kill him.

Magnamon thought of what to say, but his thoughts were interrupted by Beelzemon who suddenly spoke. "What Dragon's are left thah we know of?" he asked.

Magnamon looked at him surprised, not expecting Beelzemon to be concerned with who they fighting. Beelzemon was not the one to care about the who, he cared mostly about the why. To hear him actually engage in such a conversation was a little startling.

"Well," Dorumon began. "There's Strikedramon, Darkdramon, Chaosdramon, Wingdramon and Goldramon."

"What of thah leader?" Beelzemon asked. "Is it fair tah assume thah he is ah dragon too?"

"I suppose so," Magnamon answered. "But Yumiko herself was not a dragon, she was a Fallen Angel type. We can't make any assumptions."

Beelzemon was again silent, he brought his knee to his chest and leaned his arm on that propped up knee. He pressed his thumb to his lips, running it over his lips as he contemplated something silently. They neared the borders of the town before he eventually spoke.

"We 'ave tah be wary of Chaosdramon, Darkdramon and Goldramon," he said at last. "Tey are mega level, tey'll be thah strongest."

"What about Wingdramon and Strikedramon?" Dorumon inquired.

"Wingdramon is ultimate," Beelzemon replied. "He will be tough tah defeat, but not as tough as thah others. Strikedramon will be no problem, she is only ah champion level."

"Ah, remember what Yamaki said," Magnamon made a _'tut tut'_ noise as he wagged a finger. "Do not underestimate our foes."

...

Back at the town Magnamon and Dorumon left to set up a perimeter of the area and checked to see if there was any suspicious activity had been conducted while they had been away. There was the faint presence of another Digimon, but they couldn't be too sure if it was a Dragon or just another Digimon who had crossed over through the weakened barrier. What made the situation worse was that the Dragon's now had the map Lilithmon had given them, now the Dragon's could keep an eye on them while Serena and the others had no idea where the Dragon's could be.

It would only make finding them so much harder.

"Do you think that presence could be one of the Dragon's?" Dorumon inquired.

They rested atop one of the tallest building in the town, the old town clock tower which was still under repairs. Serena had laughed when she first saw the clock when she arrived back in the Human World, even after her two year absence the town's council had still not had managed to raise the funds necessary to fix the tower which had been damaged some time ago during a heavy storm.

From the small balcony beneath the tall hands of the clock, Dorumon had reverted into her Dorugamon form, just incase she was called upon to do battle. She now saw just how small the town was, while it no longer had the charm of a traditional country town there was still something rather appealing about the way the houses lulled along the small rises and slopes of the knolls which were barely hills.

No house had no more than two storey's, they were all quaint and spaced out nicely amongst themselves and even the school seemed small and polite in its own way. The only thing that really stood out was the north of the town, which had slowly become industrialised with its tall tower blocks that loomed over the town like some horrid silhouette. It was clear to see why Serena would be more fond of the Digital World, each and every place Serena had ever stayed was either grand (such as the Royal Knights Assembly) or quaint (such as the house in the forest).

"...No," Magnamon replied after a moment of hesitation. "If it was the Dragon's the signature would have been stronger, they _are_ powerful Digimon after all."

"But about Strikedramon?" Dorugamon asked. "You know she's only a champion level, like me her energy signature will only be faint."

Magnamon rolled his eyes in her direction, "You're right," he realized. "And since her signature is so faint she would have been able to slip in through the cracks in the Digital Barrier without my noticing."

"Then she could be here right now?" Dorugamon said.

"Yes, it is a possibility," Magnamon answered thoughtfully. "But why hasn't she attacked us yet? What makes her different?"

"When we fought Darkdramon he had no idea that there was another Dragon even in the Human World," Dorugamon reminded him. "What if she is operating a different plan entirely? Maybe she isn't attacking because she's collecting information on us, gathering the intelligence required to attack us."

"Well, she isn't doing a very good job," Magnamon folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes.

"Why do you say that?" she said.

"If she had intelligence on us then why haven't we been attacked at Yamaki's apartment?" Magnamon asked her. "They have had plenty of opportunity to attack us, for example when we were recovering from our fight with Darkdramon they could have easily killed us."

Dorugamon frowned, pondering the question given to her. "What if..." a look of realization came across her face. "What if Strikedramon doesn't know what Serena looks like, she's never seen her right? She's seen us, because she took the map from you!"

Magnamon's eyes snapped open, "Stay here," he ordered. "If I'm not back by sunset then... well..."

Magnamon jumped off the balcony and glided away, not finishing his sentence. Dorugamon watched him fly away, clear worry across her face. She knew what Magnamon was up too, he was going to search for Strikedramon and take her out. She didn't doubt Magnamon wasn't capable of doing so, she just worried if Strikedramon had a hidden card up her sleeve.

Dorugamon sat beneath the clock's hands for some hours, soon the tone of the sky brightened and the day was nearing its noon. It was as the sun reached its highest above the pale blue sky that a new presence suddenly came over her, a dark shadow which eclipsed the sun. Dorugamon felt the coolness of the shade, she jumped to her feet and took off into the air, baring her fangs.

She saw the creator of the shadow, feeling her hunches lower and the presence of a threat no longer as daunting. She gasped at the sight of the Digimon hovering before her.

"You-!"

...

Yamaki had left to do the weekly shopping, leaving Serena and Beelzemon alone for at least two hours. They were going to take advantage of the time they had away from the rest of the resistance to be one again, to be the lovers again. And Beelzemon had missed being one with her. He had missed every inch and curve of her figure, every little freckle along her arms, the feel and scent of her hair.

The taste of her skin, her lips. He even missed the small little gestures she made often, such as when she forgot something she would shake her hands as if wet as she tried to recall what she had forgotten. It wasn't so much the intimacy he missed, it was just her. Just Serena Usagi, just the girl he loved. He missed every little thing about her, now that he had her back he wasn't going to think so little of her ways or take her for granted ever again.

And though they had some hours to spare, Beelzemon had only one thing on his mind. They lay on the bed in her room, the window was open slightly with a soft breeze lulling in through the crack and it carried her scent along the air. Serena lay on his chest, fast asleep with her arms around him. He himself had removed his helmet, leaning his own head against hers and stroked her arms with small careful movements.

"Mmm," Serena often spoke in her sleep. "I really want some Minti Fruiti Soup... yummy."

Beelzemon smiled. He moved a hand to his mouth and tore the glove off using his teeth, he spat it to the floor and entwined his fingers amongst her hair. Serena had once complained to him that they are never really intimate at times, due to how he covers nearly every inch of his body. He knew small gestures such as removing his one glove was something she appreciated.

Serena moaned in her sleep, her eyebrows pulling together and a look of fear came across her face. She made a small noise, a sad little cry. Beelzemon turned to her, raising both his eyebrows as she continued to cry. Beelzemon frowned and sat up, gently shaking Serena.

"Serena!" he called. "Wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open, a wide and startled look in her eyes. She looked around her, her eyes drastically darting between each corner of the room before returning to Beelzemon. She took a deep breath, calming down instantly. Beelzemon continued to frown.

"What was thaht?" he asked.

"A bad dream," Serena replied. "I think... I think I saw the leader of the Dragon's."

Beelzemon gasped and his eyes widened, "How is thaht possible?" he asked.

He couldn't believe it, it shouldn't be possible for Serena to have a dream about the Dragon's, she shouldn't be able to see this figure. It worried Beelzemon, he didn't want the Dragon's leader to be anywhere near her, not even in her dreams.

"I saw his face," Serena continued. "I... I know his name."

Beelzemon was silent, but there was a look in his crimson eyes that urged her on. Serena hesitated, feeling a lump in her throat and... fear? Was Serena afraid of the Digimon she had not yet seen? Of course she was, he was sending out dangerous Digimon to try to destroy her friends, her family and the world she had once called home. He was powerful, and she was terrified of him.

"His name..." she swallowed the lump. "His name is _Darknessmon_."

...

_The Digital World_

Darknessmon opened his eyes, those brilliant and startling crimson orbs that seemed to glare beneath the darkness of his hooded robes. A smile split across his face, a jagged little joke of a smile that was displayed across his scaly face. For anyone who had ever scene Darknessmon they would know it was a disturbing sight, a sight that would make your hairs stand on end and your blood run cold.

He was not aware of how strong his connection between him and Serena was, he had no idea that he and she were able to communicate slightly through dreams. It was a poor connection, the signal was weak, like static on the end of the phone. To Serena it would have appeared like a bad dream, to him it was an accomplishment beyond anything he could have ever hoped for.

He wondered if he was now at a disadvantage, Serena now knew what he looked like and his name. But did she know who he was? No, Serena wouldn't be able to connect the dots so soon with so little evidence. Serena would never find out who he was, not yet at least.

He got to his feet, pushing himself off his throne and outstretched his one arm. "Darkdramon, Wingdramon!" he called with a voice that thundered throughout the castle and through the cracks of the Digital Barrier. "It's time to attack! And remember - if one little mark appears on her body I _will_ kill you."

...

A loud explosion drew Serena and Beelzemon's attention away from one another and towards the window. Serena jumped off the bed and towards the window, she flung it open and hopped onto the ledge as she saw the billowing column of smoke rise up from the south-west of the town. She felt a strong presence on the air, a thick ripple of energy that made the air warm.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The town's been attacked," she answered. "Do you think...?"

She needn't finish, for it was obvious who had attacked the defenceless town. Serena hopped off the ledge back into her room, retrieving her NeoDevimon helmet from its place on a stool. She quickly slipped it on and there was a simultaneous flash of colour, as the bright light of multi colours dwindled there stood a LadyNeoDevimon and a Demon Lord with black angelic wings.

Serena looked herself over, she feared that the broken helmet would have resulted in her ability being broken. She feared she would be half human, having her human vulnerabilities. As a Digimon she was far stronger and sturdier, her human side would have been nothing more than an easy target. Thankfully she was as she should be, though the damage done to her helmet had some repercussions.

She was no longer as tall as she once was when in that form, along with that her helmet, the guards on her knees and her claws had changed from a gold to a sleek silver. Beelzemon looked Serena up and down, she turned to him with concern in her dark pink eyes. She slowly walked to Beelzemon.

"B-Bee," she stuttered slightly. "Am I... I mean... d-do you..."

He gently grabbed her one shoulder, bringing her close. He kissed the top of her helmet, smiling as he pulled back and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Ih love ya," he grinned. "Nothan's goin' tah change thaht."

"But... do you prefer me this way?" she asked. "As someone more like you?"

"Ih love ya," he repeated. "Ih don't care what ya look like."

Serena smiled at him, and they set off. They flew above the town, spotting flashing lights below them. The towns police force was only small, at best the unit only ever comprised of eleven or so officers. The fire department was just as small, with only one fire engine and a handful of men.

"Where is Magnamon and Dorumon?" Serena wondered aloud.

"Who knows," Beelzemon replied.

They came to the site of the explosion, one of the older houses of the town, an old fashioned Japanese style house similar to that of the one Serena and Beelzemon once lived in. Beelzemon felt a lump rise up in his throat at the sight of the smouldering timbers of wood, the sight of the home brought back painful memories of the only home he had ever truly cherished.

Were the Dragon's purposefully teasing them? Or were they sending a message? Serena hovered near the tall pillars of deep smoke that consumed the sky, she stared deep into the small embers that still taunted the scorched timbers of wood. Beelzemon noticed the intensity of the stare, then followed her gaze and saw what she glowered at. A Dragon stood within the smoke, a Dragon who grinned up at them with a crooked and insane smile that Serena recognized.

Darkdramon.

He came out of the smoke, gliding in a graceful way that would not be expected of such a character. He smiled at Serena, folding his arms over his chest as he folded his arms across his chest. He seemed relieved, as if something dreadful had been removed from his presence. Serena sensed Darknessmon had threatened Darkdramon, from the dream she felt that Darknessmon didn't want her dead.

He wanted her, for whatever reason, perhaps to extract his own revenge upon her.

Maybe Darkdramon was pleased because he had not killed Serena, and because she was alive then maybe Darknessmon would not punish Darkdramon. She spotted another Digimon hovering not far from Darkdramon, perhaps a mile and a half away from Darkdramon. _Wingdramon?_ There was two of them here? Serena frowned, wondering if there were any more Digimon hovering around.

Beelzemon heard a noise, he glanced behind him and Magnamon appeared beside them. He looked a little fatigued, when he spotted Darkdramon there came a scornful look in his crimson eyes.

"Where's Dorumon?" Serena asked him.

"I don't know," he replied. "Last I saw her she was at the clock tower-"

"Well, well, well," Darkdramon cut in and grinned. "The almighty Beelzemon! I've always wanted to meet you, you've always been an inspiration for me. Amongst all the Demon Lords you truly are the greatest - a greedy little bastard who didn't care about who he hurt as long as he got what he wanted."

Beelzemon puckered his brow.

"But, I suppose as time goes on even the greatest of the us change," Darkdramon continued. "And you sir" - he pointed an accusing finger at Beelzemon - "changed. One little piece of hot ass pops into your life and _boom_! You're a cream puff now! And I'm going to take the title of Demon Lord when I absorb your data."

Beelzemon snarled and ground his sharp teeth, he lunged towards the Dragon who sneered at him. Magnamon grabbed him, pulling him back. Beelzemon spun a little as he was pulled back, he turned to Magnamon in surprise. Magnamon ignored him and stood tall, with his hands clenched tightly by his sides.

"Magnamon, what teh hell-!" Beelzemon snapped.

Serena went towards him and pushed her claws against his chest, he looked at her in surprise. Why was she preventing him from fighting? She knew how much he loved to fight and how much he wanted revenge against the Dragon's, yet she was stopping him. Why? Serena glanced back to Magnamon, she had seen that look in Magnamon's eyes: the look of revenge. Darkdramon had hurt the only person in the two worlds that Magnamon considered family, by hurting Serena Darkdramon had sealed his own fate.

Now Magnamon was determined not to loose.

"Let him have this," Serena whispered softly.

Beelzemon looked at her questionably, but he saw there was no point in arguing. Darkdramon smiled at the sight of Magnamon, though there was a tone of disappointment in his eyes. He had wanted to fight Beelzemon, but he argued with himself that there was time for both. Chances were Beelzemon would try to fight Wingdramon, who in fact was weak, so once Beelzemon had claimed victory it would be only a matter of time before Darkdramon squeezed the life out of Magnamon.

Then things would get interesting, and Darkdramon would be able to prove his worth to Darknessmon.

"Ready for round two, little Knight?" Darkdramon smirked.

Magnamon said nothing, merely squinting eyes that were alight with a burning sense of duty. Magnamon was going to win - he wanted to win. Serena and Beelzemon would have to move aside, allow them room to fight. Serena's gaze settled on Wingdramon, and she charged towards him. Beelzemon inhaled sharply, not expecting Serena to so easily jump into action.

He followed her, glancing back at Magnamon and offered him a supportive smile. Darkdramon ignored them as they passed him, his eyes laid fixated on Magnamon and he tensed his muscles accordingly. He was going to finish this in one shot, he was not in the mood to drag out the fight when there was a Demon Lord not more than a few feet away, usually he hated short fights but on this occasion he would make an exception - if only to allow his dream of fighting Beelzemon to come true.

Darkdramon opened his mouth and thick particles of energy began to manifest in his mouth, Magnamon immediately recognized the attack. _Dark Roar._ The forbidden move which had caused them so much pain last time, the attack which had caused Serena so much pain. Darkdramon fired the thick beam of Dark Matter energy, the swirling mass of black energy connected with its target and the blast created a thick and dark cloud of energy that shot upwards and its vein-like black flames that spread along the air, the black electricity lulled along the breeze and slowly dwindled away into nothingness.

Serena froze at the sound of the explosion and whirled around to see the dark cloud of smoke that was dragged away by the breeze, and she broke into a cold sweat. Even she recognized the attack, she felt an aching in her chest as she remembered the pain that had ripped through her being that day Magnamon fought Darkdramon. Darkdramon laughed loudly and turned to face Serena and Beelzemon, a grin split across his face and Serena felt her blood run cold.

"Now," he sneered. "Who's next? How about you, Demon Lord?"

"You're not finished with me yet," called a voice.

Darkdramon's eyes widened and he went stiff, Serena and Beelzemon stared in surprise at the golden clad Digimon who emerged from the smoke and hovered a few feet above Darkdramon. He gritted his sharp teeth and hissed, turning to Magnamon.

"How are you alive?" Darkdramon cried. "You survived the first one by pure luck, the second time should have killed you!"

"Did you know," Magnamon began with a smile, "that I'm known as the _Kiseki no Kagayaki_? - the Radiance of Miracles. I am a Holy Knight Digimon and my name is derived from _'Magna'_, which is Latin for great. On top of that I am born from the Digi-Egg of Miracles."

"And your point is?" Darkdramon frowned.

"Did you really think the same trick would work on me twice?" Magnamon chuckled. "I, who am a Royal Knight and a genius, I whose name is_ 'Great Digimon'_? You really are a fool."

Darkdramon roared and charged, he pulled out his Gigastick Lance and swung. Magnamon raised his arms to his face, a golden barrier appeared around his arms and the Lance bounced off the _Aura Barrier_. Magnamon spun on his one leg and kicked Darkdramon across the face, he fell and rolled along himself into a ball. He sprung forwards and Magnamon grabbed his wrists, his talons outstretched towards the Royal Knight.

Magnamon smirked at him, he quickly released Darkdramon's wrists and swatted his arms aside. Magnamon kept his palms open and his fingers outstretched, a golden light appeared in his palms and Magnamon fired two shots of _Plasma Shoots_. Darkdramon roared in pain as the shots consumed his face, his neck snapped back and he pulled away from Magnamon. He screamed and swore as he clutched his face, he turned to Magnamon and part of his clear visor and helmet crumbled beneath his claws.

Magnamon smiled at him, "I'm going to finish this in one shot," he warned. "One shot to end your pitiful existence."

Darkdramon glowered at him, "Oh really?" he hissed and an insane glint entered his scarlet eyes. "Bring it, little Knight!"

Magnamon frowned at him, wondering if Darkdramon understood the danger he was in. Magnamon had warned him once, he was not going to warn him a second time. Magnamon crossed his hands over his chest so that they made an X, he shut his eyes and a gold static ran along the air. Darkdramon looked around him in surprise, feeling the air grow static and the air grow warm.

Magnamon opened his eyes and a golden hue had taken them, Darkdramon stared back at him and Magnamon outstretched his arms. A powerful ripple of golden energy struke Darkdramon full force, as Magnamon unleashed the full power of the Digi-Egg of Miracles from every inch of his body. Darkdramon roared in pain, as his data was pulled from his body and his life was torn from him. Darkdramon burst into millions of particles and streams of data, and Magnamon let the data hover along the air before allowing Beelzemon to absorb each and every little speck of data.

"Why didn't you absorb the data, Magnamon?" Serena asked.

"I'm not going to have that parasites data within me," Magnamon answered. "Black data will only corrupt me."

"But its good enough fer meh?" Beelzemon arched an eyebrow.

"You're a Demon Lord," Magnamon pointed out. "Your whole body is consisted of black data, you're corrupted enough."

"Good point," Beelzemon smirked.

They turned on Wingdramon, who appeared a little shaken. Serena glanced around at Beelzemon and Magnamon, Beelzemon was ready to fight while Magnamon seemed a little fatigued. Magnamon unleashed the power of the Digi-Egg of Miracles, that was the life-force on which he lived on, unleashing some of it had drained him of his energy. Which meant Serena could now prove her worth to Beelzemon.

There was no need for him to keep protecting her, Serena was now perfectly capable of taking care of herself and Beelzemon had to know that. Serena wasn't sure if she could take down Wingdramon, but she could at least try.

"Bee," Serena turned to him. "Let me take him on."

"What?" Beelzemon exclaimed. "No way!"

"Please," she pleaded. "I can protect myself, let me show you."

Beelzemon began to protest, Magnamon gripped hold of his friend's shoulders. Beelzemon whirled around to face him, scowling at him. There was a calm look in Magnamon's eyes, and each of Beelzemon's arguments vanished. He knew that Serena sometimes felt frustrated whenever she had to sit along the sidelines, she tried to prove her worth when she fought Yumiko and now she wanted to do that again.

"Okay," he sighed. "Just... be careful."

She smiled at him. "I will," she promised.

Serena charged at Wingdramon, he seemed to shake off his fears and shot upwards. Serena watched as he spiralled upwards towards the heavens and inhaled sharply, some embers of fire leaked out of the corners of his mouth and Serena knew what was coming next.

_Blaze Sonic Breath._

Wingdramon fired several fireballs, Serena quickly swerved to the side as she avoided them. The fireballs thankfully lost their power and were eaten away, Serena sighed in relief that no humans had been injured. Wingdramon frowned and flew upwards, flying up out of her reach until he was not far from being consumed by the clouds. Serena eyed him carefully, wary of what his next move would be.

As a NeoDevimon she and he were of equal strength, both being an ultimate level Digimon. She felt from watching him during Magnamon's fight with Darkdramon that Wingdramon wasn't much of a fighter, in fact she sensed he was fairly new to the idea of working alongside other Digimon as part of an organization. That could play to her advantage, but she knew not to overestimate her own abilities.

Serena had to fight just like Magnamon, she had to end it quickly and waste no time or energy. Wingdramon angled his body and lowered his head, allowing the lance on his head to catch the glint of the sun and it seemed to glow with some type of energy. Serena recognized this move also; _Explode Sonic Lance_. She gritted her teeth, she easily avoided the attack. It was a simple tactic of moving aside, as she had done earlier, but if Serena wanted to end this she would have no choice but to stand still.

Wingdramon tucked in his wings and dived down, a powerful nosedive attack that Serena knew could be fatal if she did not time her moves right. Beelzemon watched her in alarm, panic clear in his eyes as he questioned her sanity. He felt like screaming at her, to order her to move, but he held his tongue. He knew that Serena was right, he would have to trust Serena and allow her to take matters into her own talons.

Wingdramon came closer, accelerating at an alarming rate downwards. Serena stayed firm, her talons at the ready. Any second now and he would be upon her, at the moment he was nothing more than a large blur as he shot downwards like an arrow and Serena felt her talons tremble at her sides. A mere foot away and... Serena outstretched her talons and grabbed him.

Her one hand tightly clasped the lance till her talons seeped into the metal. Her other talons had become embedded in Wingdramon's flesh, her talons dug deep and she twisted them ever so slightly.

Wingdramon stared up at her in surprise, "You-!" he grunted in pain. "Impossible!"

Serena smiled at him, "Nothing's impossible," she chuckled.

She ripped the lance from his back and twisted her talons in a full circle, Wingdramon screamed in pain and burst into a tiny fractions of data that she collected into a ball. The data was warm in her hands and it pulsed with a strong energy, like it was calling for her. It was alluring in a way, to just absorb the data and grow stronger. To grow stronger and powerful, to be able to protect her loved ones.

Serena went over to Magnamon and Beelzemon, breaking the data balls into two and offering one to each of them. They stared at her in surprise, why would Serena give up such precious data? She would need all of the energy necessary to fight the Dragon's, if not she may not be so lucky next time.

"Please, take it," Serena insisted. "I can't..."

"Why not?" Magnamon inquired.

"Ever since I absorbed Yumiko's data I've never felt... clean," Serena answered. "I feel like this dark entity lives within me, trying to become part of me. I can't have another one's data within me."

Beelzemon smiled and ruffled her hair, gladly taking the ball of data and crushing it into his fist. He quickly absorbed the data and in turn Magnamon took the ball of data offered to him after a few seconds of hesitation. He accepted Wingdramon's data, unlike Darkdramon it was not tainted. They began to leave, deciding it was best to when more humans began to gather below as they watched in spectacle of the fight.

...

They roosted atop one of the taller buildings, looking down at the humans as they took care of the wreckage below. The crowd had began to disperse slowly, now only a few people remained to chat to the police. Serena had began to worry, she hoped that Dorumon and her father were alright. Serena's ears pricked up at the sound of leathery wings, she looked upwards in surprise and wondered if it was another Dragon.

"Dorumon!" she cried in joy.

Magnamon and Beelzemon turned to face Dorugamon, she landed on the roof and Serena instantly went to her and wrapped her arms around her friend's neck in a warm hug. Dorugamon smiled at her, though there was an odd emotion in her eyes that worried Serena.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I... ran into some company," Dorugamon replied. "And before you do anything, hear him out, please?"

Serena frowned, not liking the sound of those words. A fourth Digimon landed on the roof, carrying in her arms an unwelcome human who jumped from the arms of his companion with a sheepish expression on his face. Tom looked over to Beelzemon, who stood with an unimpressed expression upon his face as he crossed his arms, and he turned as pale as bone. Beelzemon was much bigger in person.

"What are you doing here?" Serena spat, a layer of disgust clear in her words.

"Serena, please-" Tom began.

Angewoman stood not far from Tom, silent. She had words of advice to offer, but she knew to keep her tongue held. Tom had ordered her to keep her business out of his on this occasion, he had caused the rift between him and Serena and it was only fair for him to repair that rift.

"No!" Serena cut in. "I've heard enough of your words!"

"Hear me out, if only for a moment!" he pleaded.

Beelzemon's mouth twitched, curving into a sneer. He instantly felt a distaste for the human boy, one more word out of him and Beelzemon might even feel the need to silence him forever. He glanced to Angewoman, then to the Digi-Vice strapped to the child's belt. He frowned. He was not aware there were any Tamers left, he had been told there were to be no more in order to keep the two worlds seperate.

So how did this boy have one?

Serena stared at Tom silently, biting her lower lip. Tom put his hands together in a praying gesture, pleading for her to allow him if only a second of her time. Serena sighed, and said "Fine, but I'm only giving you five minutes." Tom smiled in gratitude.

"Okay, listen," he eyed Beelzemon once more and knew he had to be careful with his words. "What happened the other night, what I did and said, it was wrong. I understand that now, I've found it hard to accept that you're not the Serena I once knew. So, to apologize, I offer my services - well, Angewoman's services - in aiding you against this battle against the Six Dragon's."

Tom outstretched his arm, Serena looked down at it and it took her no more a few seconds to make her decision. Serena had to let go of everything human, friends, family and weaknesses included. Serena knew now that she was more Digimon than human, it was wrong of her to keep pulling in her human friends and family to a life that was so obviously dangerous.

"No," Serena slapped his hand aside. "You and Angewoman stay out of this! You got that? If you get involved then I'll personally see to it that your Digi-Vice becomes the most useless hunk of junk in both worlds."

Tom stared at her in surprise, Serena walked past him to Beelzemon and took his hand. They walked to the edge of the roof and took off into the air, Magnamon and Dorugamon following them after glancing at Tom and Angewoman. Tom slowly turned to watch the fading shadows, hoping that Serena would turn to face him and give a thankful apology or wishing him a healthy future.

She did not.

Serena had to give up everything human, starting with each and everyone of her friends. Next would be her mother, that would be one of the most difficult situations she would ever find herself in. But she had to turn her back on the Human World if she was to ever fully embrace the Digital World, and if she was able to fully accept herself.

_To Be Continued..._


	11. Broken Strings

**Episode 11 **

**Broken Strings**

There have been few moments in Serena's life when she could honestly say that she had been at peace with herself, when she had been happy and lived in such a perfect moment of bliss that no one in this world or the next could ruin the moment for her. In fact, she could probably count each such occasion on the fingers of both hands. For example, one such time was when she and Magnamon became allies and then later friends. Another time was when she and Yamaki managed to reconcile, and another time was when Beelzemon admitted his love for her. Another, more recent addition to her list, was when she and Beelzemon were reunited in the Human World.

But then there were times when Serena wished that life would just give her a break and stop treating her like its own personal little punching bag, the times she prayed for relief outnumbered the times she felt complete and total bliss. Which, to her, seemed unfair. Serena had always believed things in life needed to be balanced, whenever something bad happened in turn something good had to happen.

Often the bad things in life out-weighed the good, so the scale to which her life operated upon was often very unbalanced. She couldn't always blame life and the universe for her misfortunes, she knew that she herself often sowed the seeds for future pain. It wasn't often she caused her own misfortunes out of conscious thoughts, but when she did there was always that moment when she asked herself, _"Is this right?"_

And she asked herself that very question in the woods, beneath the old tree house, beneath the shades of the towering timbers, while her three friends stood around her in a semi-circle. She had hoped to explain to Tom why they could no longer be friends, but he refused to answer the phone to her and so it was only her, a love struck Shazz and Max and Pen who looked as though he didn't want to be there.

It was raining that day, the first bit of bad weather Serena had seen in a long time. It was strange almost, to think this was the first time Serena had seen rain in years. In the areas of the Digital World where she had once lived, it had always been very hot and had never rained. Even during her six month stay in the Human World, she never saw the rain as she had arrived during the start of August.

It seemed the veil shroud only suited the mood.

"Okay, I'm dying to know," Shazz grinned. "What's the big news you brought us all out here for?"

"Yeah," Max said. "We haven't seen you in ages, have you quit school or something?"

"Something like that," Serena answered and met none of their gazes.

She had pulled on a large and uncomfortable hooded jumper, it itched and was far too big for her, but it protected her from the rain and hid her grim expression beneath the huge hood. She had delayed telling her friends the truth, and while she was still not planning on telling them the whole thing, she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to cutting each of her ties to the Human World.

She knew it would be hard, she had delayed the meeting by four days already, but she couldn't keep avoiding them. If she returned to the Digital World before telling them that she was in fact leaving then it would only be a betrayal, all those years of friendship would have meant nought and she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. If she was going to leave then she at least had to say goodbye, she owed them that much.

Serena looked at each of them, looking at the way Max clutched Shazz's hand and the way the love twinkled in their eyes. She envied them. Why couldn't she and Beelzemon exist so carelessly without worries of vengeful Dragon's? Without having to worry that the fate of two words rested on their shoulders?

"I..." the throats ceased up in her throat.

Serena decided not to back away, not now, not when all she had to do was take a pair of scissors to her friendships and sever them as easily as one would cut through paper with a pair of safety scissors. It would be easy. All she had to do was freeze over, let her human heart become ice like Lilithmon's own heart (or whatever it was she possessed). Serena wasn't human, it was too foolish to pretend she was.

"I'm moving away," Serena announced. "Remember my father? No wait, of course you don't, none of you ever met him. But anyway, I'm moving in with him and none of you will ever see me again."

"Huh?" Shazz pulled away from Max and clutched Serena's shoulders. "Where are you going?"

Serena tried to think fast, she really should have been more thorough with her lies. She knew she would have to move somewhere far away from the town, somewhere believable where they had no hope of ever finding her. Currently she was a resident of the boondocks of Japan - a small town where children of mixed race, such as herself and her friends, lived. So where was the furthest place she could think of?

"I'm moving to... Italy," she lied. "To Sicily, a place called Palermo. Appearantly we're moving into the same area my mother was raised in as a child."

"I-_Italy_?" Pen gasped. "You can't be serious! That's practically on the other side of the planet!"

"I know," Serena replied. "My dad got a career opportunity in Italy, I've grown closer to him anyway and I thought Italy would be a nice change of pace."

"Well... we could still communicate through the Internet, right?" Shazz said optimistically.

"Uh, well, you see they have a really poor Internet reception in Palermo," Serena told them. "And I won't be going back to school, so this is the last time since we'll see one another."

"Then we have to do something," Max spoke up. "One last night together to celebrate our friendship."

"Yeah, sure," Serena said. "Do you mind telling Tom for me? He won't answer the phone to me anymore."

"Why?" Shazz frowned.

"No idea," Serena shrugged.

She managed to pull away from her Shazz's embrace and tear away from them, explaining she had to go speak to her mother about the arrangements. They let her go and headed home, Max muttering aloud as he wondered why Tom had been so distant and refused to answer the phone for the past four days. Shazz listened to his mutterings, then noticed an odd expression across Pen's face.

"What is it, Paul?" she asked.

He seemed to snap out of some daze and turned to her, "Oh... nothing," he said. "Just thinking about Serena's father, that's all."

"I sometimes forget that Serena has a dad," Shazz said. "I mean, we've never met him and she never talked about her step-dad. Who was he?"

"I heard that he was a scientist," Max answered. "A government official for some project that went under, when I asked my mom about him once she said he had a bit of a temper at times."

"What's his name?" Shazz asked him.

"Uh..." Max looked up as he tried to remember. "Ya... Ya... Yasuki?... Yasagi? Oh, wait, _Yamaki._ His name was Yamaki."

Pen mused that over, the name sounded familiar, but it didn't ring with a friendly tone, in fact it ran with an almost ominous tone. His parents had mentioned the name before, he was sure of it, but they never spoke of Yamaki in good terms. Even what Max's mother said was worrying.

And he saw by the look on Max and Shazz's face that they too were unsure of Serena's future.

...

Serena had known that her mother would be the hardest, but she had never expected it to be _that_ hard. She stood outside her mother's house, unable to lift her hand to simply rack her knuckles against the wooden frame of the door. She was frozen to the spot. She had assured herself that it would be easy, all she had to do was tell her mother that she was abandoning her human life in exchange for a new one. Simple, right?

She stood outside in the rain for a number of minutes, trying to will herself to knock the door and just it over and done with. Thankfully there was no need, the door opened and Ryu stood in the doorway with Yuki and Yuri in his arms, giggling and laughing as their father carried them in each of his arms. At the sight of Serena the grin was wiped from his face. Serena twitched slighlty in annoyance, not liking the way he reacted to her sudden appearance.

"Serena, good morning," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I... I need to speak to my mother," Serena answered. "Is she home?"

"Uh, yeah," he nodded. "She's in the living room."

Ryu carried the twins out of the doorway and set them down, pulling up the hoods of their overalls and held each of their hands as he took them to visit their grandparents who lived only a few streets away. Serena watched them go, feeling some ounce of regret at not being able to love her half-siblings. The feeling was shortly lived, as she remembered her strong dislike for Ryu and his brood.

She walked into the warmth of the house, pulling down her hood and soaked boots and entered the living room. Trisha sat on the couch with her brown hair tied up into a messy bun, some strangled curls had fallen loose and fluttered around her face as she drank some hot chocolate and read a heavy novel. She didn't react to the sounds of feet that approached her.

"Forget something, Ryu?" her mother smirked.

Trisha looked up, the smirk left her face. She put down her mug and book and got to her feet, wrapping her arms around Serena and pulling her close. Serena went to argue, she was soaking wet and was ruining her mother's blouse, but she decided not to ruin the moment as that was probably the last embrace she would recieve off her mother.

"Change out of the hoodie," Trisha smiled, "and I'll get you some hot chocolate."

Serena pulled away from her mother's embrace, "I'm not staying," she said.

"Why not?" Trisha asked. "It's been so long since I've last seen you, since Yamaki took you in I haven't seen you once."

"Well, that's the thing," Serena said. "Once the business with the Digimon is over I'm returning to Digital World and I'm not coming back."

Her mother lasped into a stunned silence, she staggered back and Serena helped her down onto the couch before she could fall, handing her the warm mug of hot chocolate. Her mother didn't drink, but the warmth radiating off the mug was oddly comforting in her hands. She stared down into the dark brown liquid, then looked up after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"So that's it?" she said. "You're leaving again?"

"At least this time I had the chance to say goodbye," Serena said, falling to her knees beside her mother. "This time you know, you won't have to worry about my whereabouts."

"But still, you're leaving," Trisha cried. "You know how hard it is, just to know that you're living with the man who I hate and abused you?"

"I can't condone Yamaki for his past," Serena told her. "He did some really bad things, things that really screwed me up, but he's making amends for what he did and right now he's helping to fix me."

"_Fix you?_" Trisha repeated. "That bastard-"

"I'm not even human!" Serena cut in. "I can't live here, not when I have a life in the Digital World a hundred times better than this life!"

"How is it better?" her mother questioned.

"I **hate** Ryu!" Serena practically screamed. "I **hate** the twins! In the Digital World I have a ton of friends, a boyfriend, even someone I consider my brother. I'm not leaving that behind for a half-life here!"

Trisha was taken back, not expecting such a revelation from her own child. She had known Serena disliked her step-father and half-siblings, but she never thought the feelings run as deep as_ 'hate'_. Serena starred back at her mother, a fiery passion burning behind her strange coloured eyes. Trisha looked away from her child, Serena expected her mother to cry or scream, instead she calmly said: "Leave and don't come back."

Serena said nothing. She just got to her feet, bowed respectively and ran out of the room, putting on her boots and left the house behind her. Trisha waited to hear the creak of the door before allowing herself to burst into tears, chocking and gasping on her regret and pain. Trisha only wished she knew her child better than Yamaki did, but she didn't know Serena anymore.

Serena had grown into a woman in a blink of an eye, she was no longer the shy little child who hid behind her mother's skirt. Serena knew what she wanted and nothing Trisha was going to say would ever change her daughter's mind.

...

Evening had come around, the sky speckled with faint lights and the veil of black took the town into its embrace. A hush had fallen onto the town, as it often did at this time, as all resigned back to their homes for a night-in. Paul settled down for dinner that evening, starring down at the meal with an empty stomach, and he didn't feel like eating. His mother, a single woman with a bit of a reputation, nudged her son's shoulder playfully.

He gave her a weak smile.

"Why so glum?" she asked. "Girl trouble?"

"Kind of," he answered.

"Serena?" she guessed.

He nodded.

"What happened?" she asked.

"She's moving to Italy with her father," Pen answered. "But I just feel like... like something's wrong."

"Serena's father?" his mother said uncertainly. "You mean Yamaki Usagi?"

He nodded again.

"Paul, honey," she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Serena's father was jailed years ago, he escaped and has been missing ever since. If he was back in her life Trisha would have told me, something like that can't be so easily kept a secret."

"But... she said..." Pen frowned. "Was she lying?"

His mother removed her hand and shrugged, unable to provide any answer. She returned to her food and Pen returned to starring at his food filled plate, trying to figure out why Serena would lie. He believed her when she said she was leaving, but where exactly was she running off to and why?

...

Yamaki wasn't home when Serena returned, so Serena managed to sneak in, dump her soggy boots and clothes aside and curl up within some warm and dry blankets with Beelzemon in the warmth of the apartment. Beelzemon had wanted to go with her that day, to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't get into trouble, but she didn't want him ruining his only pair of clothes.

Leather of the standard he wore shrunk in the rain and he couldn't really go into battle in a pair of borrowed shorts and vest.

Despite the fact he didn't step foot into the rain, he still felt the need to slip out of his clothes and join her beneath the blankets. Not that she minded. They sat on her bed, as she knew if her father came in and found them in such a position it would only lead to an uncomfortable situation, and her father requiring a drink.

"Yer know," he purred in her ear. "Yer'd be even dryer if ya slipped out of ya underwear."

"Now, now," she said teasingly. "What if my dad gets back?"

"I'll hang meh helmet on theh doorknob," he answered. "He'll know not tah come in thehn."

Serena couldn't think of any argument, instead her cheeks flushed pink, and Beelzemon pulled her up so she was sat on his lap. She felt her heart thump in her chest, the feel of his warm naked body against her own always did that to her. His arms came around her, tight and strong and all of the day's worries and woes washed from her in one clean sweep. The best way to cure her blues was to be in Beelzemon's arms, he always knew it was the little things that she appreciated.

He fell back lazily, pulling her with him so she was resting on top of him. She was most tempted to just throw off the rest of her clothes and join him, but she wasn't in the mood.

"So... did yer do theh deed?" he asked.

"Yeah," she murmured into his chest. "I cut my ties."

His arms tightened around her, "Ih'm sorry," he said. "Ih know how hard it can be, no one wants teh say goodbye."

"It was for the best," she said.

He nodded in agreement, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Just keep remindin' yerself thaht we'll be back soon enough," he whispered. "Back wit' Duftmon, BlackDuftmon, Lilithmon, Crusadermon..."

He looked down and found she had fallen asleep, he smiled and carefully switched positions with her. He lay her down and then lay beside her, coiling around her like a protective spirit and stroking her hair as she slept. Beelzemon stayed with her for the rest of the night, protecting her from all who wished her harm and all of the worries of the two worlds.

...

Yamaki shared a beer with Magnamon in the living room that, though Magnamon wasn't much of a drinker himself and usually left such things to Duftmon, but he decided to be polite and joined Yamaki for one quick beer. Yamaki had arrived home roughly an hour ago, having done his usual patrol of the town with Magnamon, they arrived back to find a tired Serena resting in her room.

Beelzemon was quick to explain what had happened that day, they needed to know no more after that and left the naked Digimon be. Though Yamaki warned Beelzemon to not touch Serena while she was alseep, or else a little circumsicion was in order. Yamaki had not expected Serena to so soon cut off her ties, he expected her to at least enjoy her human life before it was over.

"Where did Dorumon run off to?" Magnamon asked as he turned to the door.

"I think she said she wanted to check on the situation with the humans," Yamaki answered. "They've been keeping an eye on us recently, no Digimon is safe as long as they perceive us as threats."

"Us?" Magnamon repeated. "Yamaki, you're only a Digimon in a human shell. Do you really count yourself as a Digimon?"

"Of course," Yamaki took a swig of his beer. "I'm far more comfortable around other Digimon, humans always seem to make me twitch and snap out at them for the littliest of reasons."

Magnamon hid a smirk, "No matter what you are," he began, "you're family and soon this family of ours will be whole again."

"Yes," Yamaki agreed. "Once the Dragon's and their leader are taken care of, we can finally return home."

"To returning home," Magnamon toasted.

They raised their beer cans, toasting to the future and all that was to await them. If they were to win then things would be as they were, they could live in the world they loved and never have to worry about the Dragon's, Darknessmon or anything or anyone else ever again.

_To Be Continued..._


	12. Silent as the Moonlight

**Episode 12 **

**Silent as the Moonlight**

_The Digital World_

Strikedramon entered her lord's chamber, the one room in the entire structure no one bar her was allowed to enter. It was his private spot, the one place in the entire castle no one waas to enter, or else risk a flaying. His room was grand, even by Digimon standards who rarely felt the need to sleep. He stood by the bed, having drawn the curtains around it in order to conceal something from her.

He had been acting strangely those last few days, hiding away in his room, hiding from her and the others. After the death of both Wingdramon and Darkdramon (a devasting double blow that had quickly reduced their numbers), Darknessmon had become very reclusive and spent most of his days in his chambers, sometimes they would hear a noise - a shout, swearing, but nothing more.

"You summoned me, my lord?" Strikedramon bowed respectively before her ruler.

He turned to look at her, having been gazing through the veil surrounding the bed at the thing he had kept hidden from all of them. She had thought of sneaking into his room to see what he had kept hidden, but she was loyal, she would obey him and respect his privacy. Despite how much curiousity gnawed at her like a cancer. He smiled at her, seeming very cheerful despite the foul mood he had been for the whole week.

He went to her, ordering her to rise. She did as ordered, watching him walk to the door and leave his chambers. She arched an eyebrow curiously, following her leader out of the room and followed him down the corridor. He said nothing, merely walked with an uncharacteristic skip in his step and smug smile across his pale face.

"What is it you want of me, my lord?" she asked.

"I want you to go to the Human World and annihilate Magnamon for me," he answered.

Strikedramon faltered briefly in her steps, but quickly managed to slip back into her cool demeanour and caught up with him. It was a lot to ask of her, she wasn't exceptionally strong nor carried many favourable traits other than her intelligence gathering. To have him ask her such a thing was a tremendous honour, it meant he trusted her and her skills enough to send her on such a specific meeting.

All the other Dragon's had been simple pawns, his way of gathering information from their data once they had served their purpose, but he wanted her to eliminate a specific target. He thought she was special.

"I will do as you wish, my lord," she bowed and quickly left his side, heading for the nearest portal.

He watched her go, then spun on his heels and returned to the calm of his chamber. He was glad that Strikedramon noticed his change of heart, but he wouldn't tell her why. His sudden change of mood was brought on by Serena, she had attempted to cut each of her ties to the Human World and that was exactly what Darknessmon wanted. She was becoming more Digimon than human, soon she would be perfect and complete, ready to be his bride.

Of course there was the little matter involving Beelzemon, but once Darknessmon had enough strength he would finally wrap his talons around Beelzemon's neck and the suck the life out of him, breath by painful breath. He was biding his time, he knew that if he tried to kill Beelzemon now he would only loose, he needed to wait just a little bit longer. Like Yumiko he was patient.

In his chambers he grabbed a small orb from where he had left it on a chair; he set himself down onto the throne-like seat and starred contently into the orb. And for once he was not starring at Serena. An image of Tom appeared on screen, he was standing in a wood somewhere and talking down to his partner Gotomon, who was trying her damned best to calm him down.

He smiled fondly at the sight of the boy, running a talon down the image of his face. A foolish young human, who soon, will have unwillingly provided Darknessmon with the opportunity to kill Beelzemon.

...

_The Human World_

Serena's joints ached, pain screaming out from every nerve ending, every joint numb and sore at the same time. For a moment the pain hurt so much she felt like crying, but by now she was used to pain and calmed herself. She had forgotten just how much it hurt to make love to Beelzemon, she had thought that by now she would gotten used to the sensation, but no, it was different each time and it hurt each time.

Not that she minded - the pain was beginning to serve as a bit of a turn-on.

She woke early that morning, the pink sunlight streamed in from a crack in the curtain and taunted her as the streaks of light danced across her face. Serena groaned, the sun irritating her face and the pain from her body prevented her from falling back to sleep.

"Damn sun," she moaned.

She tried to roll over, but Beelzemon's arms held her firmly in place. His talons dug deep into her waist, the tips of his talons against her skin tickled actually. She forced herself over, groaning as she went, coming face-to-face with the sleeping Demon Lord. It always surprised her to see his face, the deep curves of his cheekbones, the strong jaw, the way he even seemed to scowl in his sleep.

It was funny in a way, she thought sleep was supposed to make one appear peaceful, but Beelzemon seemed to be battling one foe or another in his sleep. His current night-time rival he sparred with was Darknessmon, despite how he didn't know what he looked like Beelzemon found a way to create an image out of his imagination and deep contempt for the one who controlled the Six Dragon's.

She briefly wondered if she should stop referring to them as the Six Dragon's when there were only three of them left, then again the _Three Dragon's_ didn't sound nearly as ominous as their current title. It would be best to stick to Six Dragon's, if only because it made the whole thing slightly more dramatic.

Serena's hands, which had been resting at the small of his back, found his face. Caressing his smooth features, her fingers trailing along the curve of his jaw to where it reached his pointed ear. He moaned softly, enjoying the feel of her soft fingers against his hardened flesh. The scowl lightened slightly on his face, instead becoming a smooth frown and then slowly his features smoothed.

"Seren..." he slurred.

She smiled at him, kissing the tip of his nose. His eyes flung open, starring at her quietly with his tired crimson orbs. He smiled at her, a sleepy expression on his face, and snuggled up close to her. Serena smiled, her hands going to the back of his head and clutching a handful of his hair. His hands stroked her gently, running up and down her back, down to her buttocks where he teasingly pinched her.

"Mornin'," he greeted with a yawn.

"Morning," she replied.

Beelzemon sat up, running a hand through his hair and bringing Serena up with him, wrapping an arm around her waist. She rested her hands on his chest, trying to listen out for a heartbeat. It was foolish, she didn't even know if Digimon - especially Demon Lord's - had hearts. But she liked to pretend they did, even tapping her finger against his chest to mimic the sound.

It had been quite some time since Serena had cut all her human ties, while Beelzemon agreed with her decision Dorumon and the others were having some difficulty accepting her decision. Yamaki thought it was a good idea, but he believed it was far too early for Serena to make such decisions, in the future she may decide that she wants to exist within both worlds, but by then it may too late to repair the damage she had caused.

Yamaki just hoped she knew what she was doing.

Serena had no difficulty being a human in the Digital World, when she knew nothing of her true heritage she was glad to live as a human and be part of another world. But with the revelation of her heritage came a sort of contempt, not at humans or Digimon, but at herself. Serena felt as though she wasn't worthy of either world, however she knew she had to exist in one of the two worlds so she decided to exist in the most acceptive one.

The Digital World was different to the Human World, there were a variety of species with new ones appearing every day, Serena would be more than welcomed by the mass of Digimon. She knew so because all the Digimon she knew found her fascinating, that included Royal Knights like Crusadermon and even the Demon Lord's. In a way, Digimon had no right to judge because of all the different species and sub-species that existed.

In the Human World she would be regarded as some kind of abomination, a freak creation of science, they would poke and prod at her and attempt to see what makes her tick. Serena didn't want to be some guinea pig, she didn't want her human friends to know what she really was. It was best they were kept in the dark, it was best Serena stayed with those she felt a kinship towards.

If only she could get Dorumon and Magnamon to see it from her perspective, if they could understand why she did it then they would know she truly hadn't turned her back on the humans - because Serena still loved them and was still part human.

They snuggled a little while longer, then slipped into some clothes and joined the others for breakfast. They chatted about the usual; patrols, news of the Dragon's, the plan for the day. They knew by now Darknessmon's techniques - he would send out a Dragon and they would fight. It seemed like there was much more to it than it, but they couldn't be sure just what that was.

Darknessmon had to be smarter than that, he had to have some kind of hidden agenda, other he wouldn't just willingly sacrifice his troops as if they were mere pawns. Unless they _were_ just pawns, unless Darknessmon had something up his sleeve that they weren't unaware of. Yamaki warned Serena not to go into too much depth, there was much they didn't know about Darknessmon, it was only recently they learned his name.

"So what **is** he planning?" Serena asked. "Aside from dominance of the two worlds we know absolutely nothing."

"Darknessmon isn't exactly playing by the rules," Magnamon pointed out. "He's taken what Yumiko left and trying to continue, but he's doing it in a completely different way to her. Yumiko waited years for her chance, she waited years for Serena, he's been in charge for six months and he's already lost three of his Dragon's because of how quick he's sent them to battle us."

"How do we know he's not after Serena?" Dorumon asked. "Just because he's made no attempt at capturing her doesn't mean he's not interested, maybe he's learnt from Yumiko's mistake and now knows the best way to go about it."

Beelzemon growled, not liking Dorumon's theory. Serena reached out and grabbed his hand, clutching it tightly, the growl died down but there was still a rumble in his chest that not even her touch could soothe. He was pissed, best to let him vent his rage.

After that they decided to keep an eye on the remaining Dragon's, see how they reacted and behaved around Serena. If Darknessmon had an ulterior motive then it would show through his pawns moves, they acted accordingly to his orders and what he desired they sought out. After the breakfast discussion they went out for the daily patrols; Magnamon had the morning shift, Beelzemon and Serena had the afternoon patrol and Yamaki and Dorumon had the late night patrol.

Magnamon didn't mind the early morning shift, or that he was alone. He just thought of BlackDuftmon and he would be in paradise. He missed her, terribly so, but he knew that soon the whole affair would be over and he would be back with her. It was just a shame she and her cousin had to stay in the Digital World, but someone needed to stay and guard the home front.

He glided above the city, being careful to fly high above the town so none would see him. If they looked up, all they would see would be a glittering golden object streaking across the sky. The town was quiet, as usual, that early morning and he preferred it that way. He hated noisey cities and towns, they distracted him from the task at hand and at the moment he needed to maintain a steady focus.

He could sense a Digimon's presence, but so many Digimon had been passing through lately that it had been become hard to distinguish powerful Digimon from weak Digimon. Which was why he needed so focused and why it was starting to make things insanely difficult, how was he supposed to know when a Dragon arrived if these other Digimon kept confusing him?

His reply came from a kick to the chest.

Magnamon gagged, his neck snapping back as he felt the blow crack a rib or two. He fell backwards, loosing his altitude, another kick to the chest sent him falling like a meteorite to the streets below. He landed with a deafening thud, humans screamed and ran for cover as thick dust flew up into the air. Magnamon coughed and groaned, climbing out of the crater. He waved the dust away, spotting a floating figure in the sky.

Magnamon roared in anger, Strikedramon hovered a metre above him, arms folded over her chest. He felt anger at the fact she had been able to hit him not just once, but twice. He took a deep breath, sliding his feet across the dirt and lowering his hunches into a defensive stance as he raised his fists. Strikedramon unfolded her arms, dropping them to her sides as fists. He decided not to show how insulted he was, but the anger was clear his red orbs.

Magnamon charged, jumping into the air and swung a punch. She raised her arm, blocking his attack. He twisted his body, swinging his leg, she raised her other hand and caught him by the ankle. He swore, then spotted an opening and elbowed her in the face. Her head snapped back, Magnamon pulled free of her grasp and delivered a kick to her side. Strikedramon wrapped her arms around the leg at her side, she lifted him high and flung him down back into the ditch. Magnamon cried out in pain, his back arching.

"Is that all you got, Royal Knight?" she taunted. "I've known Gnomemon put up a better fight."

Magnamon struggled to reply, the pain in his body shooting to all parts of his limbs. Strikedramon smirked and summoned her _Strike Fang_, the Metal Plate's dotted over her body began to burn red hot, her whole body becoming a mass of flames. She arched her body, raising an elbow. She fell onto him, slamming her elbow into his chest in a move that would make any wrestler proud.

Magnamon wheezed loudly, a scream strangling his throat, he felt a lung collapse under the pressure. Strikedramon took a step back, trying to hide her pleasure. Darknessmon would be so pleased with her, she was holding her own against a Royal Knight, she was even winning. She decided not to get over-confident, she knew she only had an advantage because she knew all of his moves. She had seen him fight, she had been analyzing him and she knew how he worked.

"Don't even try to move," she ordered. "I can tell by your breathing that you have a collapsed lung and a broken rib or two, you can't even stand."

A foot kicked her in the jaw, Strikedramon's cry was cut short as she gagged on blood and her head snapped backwards violently. She stumbled, but managed to regain her footing. Magnamon got to his feet, clutching his side and wheezing loudly and heavily.

"Bastard!" she swore. "How are you... how are you still standing?"

"I'm far older than you might think," Magnamon smirked. "When your as old as me you learn to be sturdy or risk becoming a cripple."

"Cripple?" Strikedramon repeated. "That seems a little... cruel, don't you think?"

"No," he replied, "it's the truth and the truth is cruel. Now, ready for round two? I'm going to send you back to Darknessmon on your knees."

She growled loudly, a deep animalistic sound that grew in her throat and burst out of her mouth. Her red hair suddenly burst into scorching flames, bluish-white flames that danced along the side of her face. Magnamon was taken back by the sight of the living flames, he thought Strikedramon only did such a thing when fighting Virus-species, the one type of Digimon they truly despised.

He must have really pissed her off.

She charged, swinging her already red-hot Metal Plate's. He ducked, swerving to avoid each hit, twisting his body despite the pain he felt. He slashed out, using boxer-style punches and swipes. She was strong, he could give her that, but she was angry and anger clouded one's mind. She was acting on impulse, not instict, and so she was suffering some severe blows because of it.

"Tell me," he said as he ducked low, "why does Darknessmon send you and the Dragon's to fight his battles? Is he a coward?"

She snarled, tearing into him even harder. Her moves became sluggish, dizzy on her feet, her reactions slower. She was truly livid now, she couldn't even see straight due to pain and red hot anger. Magnamon smirked, falling to his feet and swinging out with his legs. He caught her ankle; she fell but landed on her hands and jumped onto her feet. She saw some sharp debris, she scooped it up with the talons on her foot and fling it into the air, she spun on her heels and kicked the debris in his direction.

Magnamon raised his arm, knocking it aside with his wrist. She repeated the process and each time he managed to knock aside the debris. She threw an even larger chunk of jagged rock in his direction; Magnamon fell onto his hands, catching the rock between the curve of his one foot and used his momentum to fling it back in her direction. It hit her directly in the face and she stumbled back.

"I recommend you running away now," Magnamon said as he got to his feet. "Or by the end of this I'll have your data inside of me."

"I will not run away!" she roared. "My duty is to my lord and him I shall serve, body, mind and soul! I owe him my life."

"Your are serving a fool," Magnamon remarked. "He's following from where Yumiko left off... and we all know how that turned out."

Strikedramon said nothing; she eyed Magnamon cautiously, choosing her next words carefully. "You... don't know?" she said.

"Know what?" he asked.

She shook her head, "Good, you don't know," she sounded pleased. "Excellent."

Magnamon charged. Strikedramon jumped back, avoiding his blows. She returned with her own counter-blows, both of them moving a sluggishly now as the battle was finally taking their toil on both of their bodies. Magnamon had been hoping to delay the fight for as long as possibly, until reinforcements arrived. But now he was too far into the fight, no one was going to steal this victory from him now.

He would defeat Strikedramon and then extract the information from her, maybe then he would come closer to learning the truth of Darknessmon and his ambitions. He delivered a jaw-shattering blow to her face, then another to her gut and then a back-hand across her face. She fell to the ground, the flames in her hair sizzling away until her straight red locks returned. He grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground.

"Answer me this," he growled, "do you actually think Darknessmon gives a damn about you?"

"Yes!" Strikedramon cried. "Of course he does, he told me that I was the special one!" - her voice suddenly took a whiney tone - "I am his soldier! I am his warrior! I am his arms when he cannot move! I-"

He punched her across the face, dropping her into the dirt. She pushed herself up, hissing at him.

"You are his pawn," Magnamon snapped. "He cares nothing for you. You're his recon, correct? You gather information, but once he finds that you have failed to defeat me he will kill you!"

"No, no," Strikedramon protested. "I am different. I-"

"Am just like the others," Magnamon finished. "If Darknessmon is every bit the same cold hearted monster Yumiko was, then you have no hope of finding pity or remorse within him."

Strikedramon didn't look at him, knowing deep down in the hollow her bones that he was right. Darknessmon had shown neither regret nor pity, those who failed him faced his wrath. Had she foolishly led herself onto believe that she would be of any exception because of her skills? What if she did return and Darknessmon devoured her as he had Reptiledramon? She couldn't face that, she couldn't face reality.

She wanted to serve him, but not like that, she didn't want to be a physical part of him. She wanted to be at his side, it seemed that would never happen now. Magnamon outstretched his arm; she flinched and looked at the hand with something between confusion and amazement. Magnamon only smiled at her, cocking his head slightly in amusement. She looked from him to his hand, seeing from the expression in his eyes that he was going to let her live.

"W-what?" she stammered. "Why... why let me live?"

"Because I think we can help one another," he answered. "Join us, Strikedramon, and help us defeat Darknessmon. If you really are his favourite then you'll know everything. But" - he lowered his arm - "if you truly believe he will not kill you, then I won't stop you. If I don't ever see you again then I'll know that I was right."

Strikedramon got to her feet, warily eyeing him. "I won't take your offer - yet," she said. "I... I need time to think."

Magnamon raised his hands, "Of course," he said respectively. "I'll leave you be. But know this, despite how silent your movements are at times, I will know if you are there - I now recognized your energy signature."

Strikedramon nodded and quick as a flash, vanished. He smiled, continuing his patrol. Strikedramon truly was as silent as he was, on top of that she was a formidable opponent, he only hoped that she would join the Anti-Dragon Resistance. Having her part of the team would be so beneficial, she knew Darknessmon better than anyone else. She knew his secrets, the other Dragon's secrets, she would know who Darknessmon is and why he was continuing from where Yumiko had left off.

They needed Strikedramon as much as she needed them.

...

Magnamon entered the apartment, finally returning from his patrol that had gone into the early hours of the afternoon. He entered through the living room window, showeing no sign of his injuries, having healed hours earlier. Serena and Beelzemon smiled at him from where they sat on the couch, then stood as they prepared to take over from his shift. Serena ran into the bedroom to retrieve her helmet, Beelzemon got to his feet and began to limber up as his wings burst out of his back.

"How did theh patrol go?" he asked. "Anythin' eventful happen?"

Magnamon went to the kitchen, then stopped and turned to Magnamon with a sly smile on his face. "We'll know soon enough," he said mysteriously.

He entered the kitchen to do himself some tea, Beelzemon arched an eyebrow at the comment and wondered what had happened that day. Serena reappeared, donning the garbs of a NeoDevimon. She ran to the window, hopping onto the ledge. She glanced behind her, wondering why Beelzemon hadn't followed.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Uh... no," he turned to her. "Let's go."

She jumped out of the window, Beelzemon followed, then stopped with his foot on the ledge and glanced back to Magnamon who had begun to boil some water. Beelzemon had a niggling feeling Magnamon was hiding something from them, but he wouldn't press the matter further. If Magnamon had a secret, then it would eventually come out.

All secrets do.

_To Be Continued..._


	13. Longing for Sanctuary

**Episode 13 **

**Longing for Sanctuary**

_He stood in the darkness, starring ahead with bewildered eyes at his bedroom, shroud in an unnatural darkness that seemed to pulse and swirl like a living mass of wild snakes that hissed at him and nipped at his ankles. But he paid them no attention, more so focused on the fact he was in his bedroom._

_Tom was pretty sure that he had just been on a train, heading out to the city to visit an aunt and get as far away from Serena, from the Dragons and as far away from all his problems just so that he could get a peaceful and silent night's rest. So how the hell did he get to his bedroom?_

_He stood in his room, his back to the bed in the corner of the room, and starring at a tall and grand mirror. Its head made from rich gold, magnificent swirls and rich patterns expertly carved into the metal of the head and body. The surface was clear and shiny, yet as he starred at it he found there was no reflection._

_The mirror reflected not him, not the room, nothing. It was blank, a canvas ready for painting and ready to manipulate. The chimes by his window danced on an unseen breeze, trilling softly on the cold air, air so cold he felt frost on his eyelashes and his breath were solid puffs of smoke before his gaze._

_What was happening?_

_Tom wanted to move, wanted to get away, wanted to find Serena and tell her he was sorry and have her bring him back into his life. He wanted to be part of that life, that exciting, bold and amazing existence to which she hovered on the plains of normalcy and the extreme. He wanted to be just like her._

_Tom continued to stand there, breathing irregularly and dressed in his shorts and vest, only now noticing his feet were bare and that they were frozen solid to the ground. Even if he wanted to move he couldn't, or risk breaking his feet off._

_There was a voice in the dark, images began to dance across the floor, shadows of creatures but he was unable to make out their shapes clearly through his ice-ridden lids. The voice chuckled, sounding amused and the mirror's surface rippled like a stone over a pond._

_The mirror's surface swelled, and then sunk as a hand came through the mirror followed by another hand, and then a leg. Tom stared, wishing he was somewhere else, afraid of the figure that was coming through the mirror. A torso and head now appeared and a tall figure stood before him, smiling._

_He was pale like snow, dressed in dark muddy red armour that appeared sharp and scaly and resembled almost a dragon. The helmet he wore covered only the top half of his head, revealing his sallow and thin smile. The helmet was covered in an array of sharp horns, some coming down to his face, others curling backwards, and on both sides of the helmet were eight bright, glassy yellow eyes - four on the left, four on the right, and as hollow as his soul. His claws were sharp and black; his wings - which were magnificent and beautiful - were pressed to his back and looked almost like a cape that flowed behind him._

_"Who... who are you?" Tom asked through chattering teeth._

_The figure smile's grew, clearly amused. "You haven't figured it out?" he laughed. "My, aren't you the slow one? Or is it rather that you don't know who I am - because Serena never told you?"_

_Tom tried to glare, but he was slowly freezing over and the frightened expression lay frozen on his face._

_The figure came forwards, his armour didn't clink as armour should, instead it moved freely like it was a part of his skin and didn't even scrape against the other plates of armour on his body. He stopped in front of Tom, placing a hand on his shoulder, and the ice melted from Tom's shoulder and a warm, welcoming heat rushed through him as the man in armour placed both his hands on Tom s face, using his thumb to wipe the ice from his lashes._

_"I... am Darknessmon," he introduced._

_"Darknessmon?" Tom repeated._

_He nodded._

_"What do you want with me?" Tom asked._

_Darknessmon smiled, cocking his head slightly to the side. He released Tom's face, placing one hand on the human's chest, placing it right over his heart where Darknessmon detected the sound and thump of the boy's human heart. His smile grew, growing darker and filling his glassy eyes with a malice no human could ever possess._

_"I want your soul!" he roared in delight._

_His mouth opened up like a snake's, the jaw separating, splitting and opening wide as Tom stared at the rows of dozens of sharp teeth that pointed backwards, covering the inside of his mouth and even his gums in a circular motion. Darknessmon chuckled darkly and swallowed Tom's head whole..._

_...  
_

Tom woke up with a jolt, sending his bag to the floor and gasping so loudly it almost sounded like a choke. He breathed raggedly, starring down at the floor with wide eyes and even felt a drop of sweat roll down the side of his face and onto his vest.

Tom managed to control his breathing, taking a deep breath and calming down. He looked around him, noticing the train was empty with the pink/orange sky reflecting across the empty cart. Tom had missed his stop. He looked out the window, looking down at the countryside from the height of the bridge and a small stream that they passed.

Tom frowned, wondering how he had gotten so far. Gotomon should have waked him up before they reached their stop, so why hadn't she? He went to the bag on the floor, unzipping it and opening it. In the large duffel bag lay his clothes, some snacks, some homework and the occasional way-ward boy's magazine.

But there was no Gotomon and no Digivice.

"Looking for something?" chortled a familiar and dark voice.

Tom froze, his skin freezing as if he was back in the dream, and his head snapped up to the sight of Darknessmon stood by the end of the cart, holding an unconscious Gotomon by the neck and Tom's Digivice in the other. Tom gasped.

"Now," Darknessmon smirked and looked at Gotomon. "Didn't I tell you I wanted your soul?"

He looked to Tom, the same dark look in his glassy-eyes, his grin tearing at the corners of his mouth until he looked like some kind of shark, and his jaw broke and gave way, splitting like a serpent's with each of his little teeth glistening in the low light.

And Tom screamed, the sound ripping through the peace and calm of the countryside and disturbing the tranquillity and harmony of a world that knew nothing of the pain he was about to endure.

...

_That Night_

Serena's eyes flung open and she woke abruptly, like one would from a bad dream, and starred ahead into the darkness of her room. It was the fifth time that evening she had just woken up, unable to sleep, and unable to dream of anything but Darknessmon and his dark voice. Since that first dream, since she learned of his name, she had been unable to dream of anything but him since.

Her eyes easily adjusted to the darkness and her hand shot forwards, feeling for the form of Beelzemon. The groove where he usually slept was still there, but it was cold, he had left the bed sometime ago. Serena frowned.

She sat up, noticing a shadow cast over her, and turned over to look at Beelzemon sat on the window sill. He looked so stunning with the moonlight cast over him, like a pale blue god. His eyes, so crimson and warm, glowed in the dark and shone like two tiny headlights. His leather garb had been unzipped half-way, so it hung behind him and left his torso exposed.

She sometimes wondered why Beelzemon was with her, his body, so lean and strong, was all hers, and why? Serena was just a twisted little freak of nature, yet he loved her and wanted to be with her. Digimon seriously were strange if one of them could love her as Beelzemon did.

Serena drew her eyes away from his muscled torso and hard abs to his face, now seeing he had his helmet on. Serena could only assume by that and the way he was dressed he was prepared to go out for a walk, but had changed his mind.

"Bee?" she said drowsily.

His ears pricked up at the sound of his name and he turned to her, the moon cast a shadow over his face and she could barely see his mouth from beneath the helmet, but she assumed he was smiling by the warm look in his eyes.

"Seren," he purred softly. "Ya should be asleep."

"I know," Serena said, "but I can't sleep."

"Neither can I," he moved away from the window and crawled into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her. "I just keep thinkin' 'bout Darknessmon an tis whole mess."

Serena brushed her face against his chest, almost purring in pleasure at the feel of his body against her own. His hands weaved through her hair, she could feel the tips of his talons against her scalp and it was a soothing notion that had her lulling into her sleep.

"When this is over we can go home," Serena murmured softly.

"I know that," he smirked. "I'm talkin' 'bout Darknessmon."

Serena smiled, sitting up and burying her face into his spiky blonde hair. He smiled at the reaction, knowing that Serena usually acted so oddly whenever she was tired. It was amusing, bringing heavy laughs to his chest. He once caught her so tired she tried to sing a song in Swedish, despite how she knew not one word in Swedish, and he laughed at the memory each time.

"Bee..." she moaned softly.

"Hmm?" he replied and closed his eyes.

"I want you to fight Darknessmon with me," she said.

Beelzemon opened his eyes and pulled his head back to look at her, she looked back at him with a very serious expression on her face. He had never been expecting her to say such a thing, he had expected for Serena to want to finish this battle as she had finished Yumiko. He thought if he offered his services she would have said no.

"Why?" he asked. "I mean, I wanna help ya but-"

"I'm not afraid of him," Serena frowned. "If that's what you think. It's just that after I fought Yumiko I felt like... like..." she shook her head, unable to think of the word that described how she felt. "I just want you there to help me kill Darknessmon, so then we both know that he's dead and that he's never coming back."

Beelzemon grabbed Serena by the shoulders, pushing her down onto the bed and took off his mask in order to kiss her on the lips. Serena began to protest, she was being serious, she didn't want him to try to calm her down when she had so much to say. But then she realized what he was doing and the protest died in her throat.

He knew what she meant to say; ever since she had defeated Yumiko she had felt so alone. Her battle with the one who had been pulling all the strings had resulted in her isolation in the Human World, while she was with Yamaki throughout the ordeal she had to wait six months for her digital companions to return and of all those Beelzemon was the last to arrive.

Serena didn't want to face Darknessmon and be thrown into some other world, she wanted to be with Beelzemon at all costs and even if she had to share her revenge then so be it. She and Beelzemon would fight Darknessmon together and whatever the outcome of the battle she would be glad to know that Beelzemon was at her side.

...

Strikedramon had heard the expression bruised ego before, but never had she actually felt such a feeling in her that it hurt like a ball of lead in her stomach. She had never lost before, while the loss stung like a jagged wound she was actually glad that her first and only loss was to Magnamon.

Not many could say that they lost to a Royal Knight, lived and was offered the chance to join sides with such a powerful Digimon. Magnamon defeated her without using any of his powers, just his hand-to-hand combat skills, why he was part of the Royal Knights was obvious and no one should dare question why the short Digimon was part of the righteous and pure faction.

It had been almost four days since her defeat, four days she had spent wondering around the town, hiding in the parts of the settlement not even the humans living there were aware of. She had spent those days thinking of Magnamon's offer, of the life she had lived with Darknessmon and when she was a new recruit of Yumiko's Dragons.

She clutched the map in her hand, the magical device which allowed her to detect the presence of any Dragon, of any Knight, of any Demon Lord. Darknessmon had given it to her to guard, she knew that soon he would send another of the Dragons to retrieve her.

Darknessmon had been waiting for her to alert him to the situation, he needed to know if she had defeated Magnamon and he only had little patience. Four days were long enough, she was surprised he hadn't sent out anyone by now, but he knew that she was a patient fighter, she always had been.

...

_Five Years Ago, the Digital World_

_Strikedramon and the other Dragons had all started off in one bad position or another, each of them had either lived a poor standard of life to begin with while what they found entertaining had led to them running into trouble and being reprimanded by the Royal Knights on countless occasions._

_It was probably the reason why Yumiko picked her Six, because they were either vulnerable or easy to manipulate. Strikedramon, admittedly, was a bit of both when Yumiko came to her._

_Strikedramon wasn t sure how some Digimon became so like humans when it came their situations, she only assumed that since they stemmed from the thoughts, feelings and ideas of humans they shared many traits. For example, lots of Digimon gambled away plenty of money on betting on fighters._

_Strikedramon was one of those fighters. Some Digimon, mega levels mostly, grew bored of being powerful and instead like to train other Digimon to be fighters, when their partners grew strong enough to hold their own they sent them into the infamous Digimon fighting pits and let them fight and hopefully earn some money of them._

_She couldn't remember who had been the one to train her, her memory was a little fuzzy from all the times she had been punched in the head, but she did remember the day she met Yumiko as clearly as she felt the map in her hand._

_The fighting pits were just that a deep, shallow pit where thousands of Digimon goaded and cheered on the fighters from stands high up from the brawls, demanding to see one Digimon burst into the data while the other hobbles off as a injured victor._

_Strikedramon hit the wall hard, practically head-butting the wall and bouncing off to a heap on the floor. She looked up, GrapLeomon came towards her, grinning and cracking his knuckles. He looked so smug, so certain of victory that she felt like spitting at his ignorance. He raised his leg, drawing it to his side and shot out._

_She ducked low, his foot became embedded in the soft wall and he swore in annoyance. Strikedramon was battered, it took all of her focus just to stand, but it had been worth it. If anything, she was good at finding weak points, even if it stick her some time to find it. And she knew that GrapLeomon had two weakpoints, one weaker than the other and would assure her victory. _

_She looked to GrapLeomon, his foot still stuck in the wall, and she swung a punch. She hit him on the back of his knee and he crumpled like paper, trying to fall to his knee and crying out as his leg remained in the wall. He lay there awkwardly, crying out in pain and trying to pull his leg free. Strikedramon smiled, swinging the back of her leg into the side of his face._

_She hit him in just the right spot, on the weakest point between jaw and neck, and his head came off in one clear sweeping motion. It sailed through the air, the crowd fell silent in shock and Strikedramon watched in smug satisfaction as GrapLeomon's head hit the ground and his whole body burst into tiny particles of data. The crowd burst into a booming applause as she absorbed the data and raised her arms, bearing her muscles and demanding a second opponent._

_Strikedramon fought for eight more rounds before the crowd wanted to see someone else and she left the pit, entering the holding area - a dank, dark cave with bars separating the contestants from an early fight. Fighters rarely demanded luxury, the holding area was perfect for creatures like them. She sat gathering her breath, drinking water from a chipped wooden cup and waiting for her trainer._

_She looked at the bars of her cell, rusted and dirty, and was reminded of a jail cell. She heard a noise, the clack of metal, and she turned to find a LadyDevimon standing in the open door of her cell with a smile on her face. Fighters were not allowed visitors, even from adoring fans, how had this LadyDevimon got past the guards?  
_

_"What do you want?" Strikedramon growled._

_"I came to see you fight," she answered, "and isn't it polite to ask who someone is first?"_

_"You're a LadyDevimon," Strikedramon pointed out. "What else is there to know?"_

_The smile on her face didn't once waver as folded her arms over her chest, "I am a _**very**_ special LadyDevimon," she insisted._

_"Alright, so who are you?" Strikedramon asked._

_"I am Yumiko Asuka," she introduced._

_Strikedramon frowned, wondering why a Digimon would take a human name. Digimon rarely took human names; Strikedramon knew that some Digimon liked to take human names in order to help separate them from other Digimon and in order to make them unique in some way. But Strikedramon didn't know of any Digimon with a human name, except for Yumiko._

_"Lots of people come to see me fight," Strikedramon told her. "So why have you sneaked in here to come speak to me?"_

_"I have an interesting proposition for you," Yumiko explained. "A little... quest, if you will. I need Digimon, strong Digimon, and I want you to be a member of my exclusive group."_

_"How exclusive are we talking?" Strikedramon inquired, her interest peaked._

_"Six," Yumiko answered. "Six Dragons - has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"_

_"How many have you got so far?" Strikedramon asked._

_"If you joined then it would make it two dragons so far," Yumiko replied. "I'll admit it's taken me a very long time to seek out worthy fighters, it took me several months to find Chaosdramon."_

_"Ch-Chaosdramon?" Strikedramon repeated._

_Yumiko nodded. "I told you," she chuckled, "I want the best of the best."_

_"B-but I-I m nowhere near as powerful as Chaosdramon!" Strikedramon protested. "W-why me? Why not one of the other fighters?"_

_Yumiko stroked the side of Strikedramon's face affectionately, startling the other Digimon who had become so accustomed to pain and indifference. Yumiko's smile grew, pulling at the corner of her mouth in a Joker-like smile. Strikedramon didn't notice, still reeling from the fact this strange Digimon thought her worthy to be part of her group and was being so kind to her.  
_

_"You are very special, Strikedramon," Yumiko said. "You're fast, you're strong and you're patient. I know that sometimes the price of power is sanity; many of my other Dragons will be somewhat... insane, or just power-hungry. I need someone as clear-headed and focused as you if I am to achieve my goal."_

_Strikedramon blinked owlishly, "I'm... I'm special?" she almost whispered._

_Yumiko nodded._

_Strikedramon smiled and for the first time in her long life felt acceptance, felt proud of her skills and felt as though she would do anything for Yumiko. Even lay down her life if Yumiko as so much requested it._

_...  
_

_Now, the Human World_

That was how Yumiko earned her trust, through compliments and fake adoration, with the others she just offered them what they wanted or promised them whatever they desired. And it **did** take Yumiko some time before she assembled all her Dragons - about one and a half years in fact, and she spent the rest of her time searching for Serena, gathering information and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

But deep down Strikedramon always knew that Yumiko's plan was never going to work, or if it did work then it would have desire consequences for both of the worlds. Yumiko kept much of the plan to herself, but when Strikedramon became aware of her plan she grew worried.

Both worlds had to co-exist, there was just no way one could exist without the other as they helped balance one another out. Destroy one and then the barrier would be gone, the creatures of the one world would arrive in the other world and then there would be a population problem, or if you destroyed the barrier the worlds would collapse on the other.

There was just no way they could live without the other.

Strikedramon clutched the parchment in her hand, starring at it as she sat in the dark of an attic. She unfurled the map, placing it on her lap and looked at the pulsing lights that glowed in the dark and provided some light. She stared at them for a long time, trying to clear her thoughts, but another day went by and Strikedramon still couldn't make up her mind.

Return to Darknessmon or ally herself with Serena Usagi? What was she going to do?

_To Be Continued..._


	14. Crimson Gold

_I apologize for the serious delay, I had hoped to write and upload this chapter - along with some others - onto the site once I had finished my exams, but I began to suffer from writer's block... and then my USB malfunctioned. But I'm back now, sorry for the wait._

* * *

**Episode 14 **

**Crimson Gold**

_The Human World_

"The darkness is coming..."

Tom starred up at the ceiling, trying to figure out if what had happened had all been a dream or if it truly had happened. He starred at the dark ceiling of his aunt's spare room, remembering the way Darknessmon's smile looked as he leered at Tom and proclaimed his dark desires. The memory sent a violent shiver down his spine.

His memory was blotched at best; he clearly remembered the vivid nightmare, the train ride and then Darknessmon holding Gatomon and his Digivice. After that he remembered nothing but his stop, so had it all been a dream or had it truly happened? Even if it had happened, what would Darknessmon want with him?

_'The darkness is coming...'_

That was the very last thing Tom remembered, those words as he awoke to find himself at his stop. What did it mean? Something was wrong, very wrong, and unless Tom did something about it then he knew it was only going to get all the more worse. He had to tell Serena what had happened, warn her of the darkness.

He rolled off his bed and ran out of his room, hurrying down the stairs to the living room. His aunt sat at a _kotatsu_, dressed in her favourite _komon kimono_ and drinking a small cup of_ saké_ as she shouted at the television. His aunt was a lovely woman, younger than his mother by ten years, but old fashioned and enjoyed game shows.

"Aunt Ki," he said, "where's the phone?"

"Hmmm?" she turned to him. "The phone is in the kitchen, why?"

"I need to phone my friend," he answered. "It's an emergency."

"Where does she live?" Aunt Ki inquired.

"In the town," he answered.

"No!" she snapped. "Long distance calls cost too much, use next door's phone - they always phone long distance, your call shouldn't make a difference."

"But Aunt Ki," he protested. "_'Next door'_ is three miles down the road!"

"Is this call an emergency or not?" she said calmly as she sipped some _saké_.

"Well, yeah..." he answered.

"Then stop complaining and get going," she smirked.

He groaned loudly and stormed out of the room, running out of the small Japanese home and out onto the empty road. What could have happened may have just been a dream, but it may have been something else entirely. It could be that Darknessmon was coming for them; his dream could have been real. And if it had been real, why had Darknessmon come for him?

_'The darkness is coming...'_

_...  
_

Yamaki walked into remaining spare room of his apartment, looking at the huge generator that took up the left side of the room, the thick wires that ran from the generator into the wall and into a bulky computer situated in the centre of the room. The single Digi-Core inside the generator hummed loudly with power.

He went towards the main core, where the main switch was situated. He no longer saw a point in keeping the generator, what was once used to try to communicate with the Digital World was no longer of any use. With Dorumon's collar they now had a means of returning to the Digital World, the generator was now nothing more than a pile of scrap.

The Digi-Core could be of some use, it was an infinite power source, so maybe now it could be used to keep the apartment working. It was becoming difficult to hide his identity; people were starting to recognize him, soon he would need to move or change his identity - or even close off the apartment, with the Digi-Core he could keep the place running for years to come without actually having to leave (except for food, but he could always send Serena out to do that).

"The Digi-Core can be used for my lab back home," he pondered aloud. "Or better still, I can get a new lab! Maybe Yumiko trashing my lab wasn't such a bad thing after all; I could get one with chrome plating-"

There was a creak at the door; Yamaki continued to speak to himself, lost in his own thoughts of a beautiful, shiny lab he didn't notice Beelzemon and Dorumon enter the room. It was the first time either of them had seen the room and the technology inside, looking at the eye-sore Beelzemon realized Serena was truly as desperate to find him as he was to find her.

"What are you going to do with all this stuff Yamaki?" Dorumon asked.

He stopped and turned to them, "Well... I can't really leave this stuff behind," he said. "I don't trust what some will want to do with it, I guess I'll have no other choice but to disassemble the whole thing and recycle the scrap."

Beelzemon walked towards the generator, peering through some thick glass to the Digi-Core. "What 'bout tis?" he asked. "Ya can't really do much wit' ah Digi-Core, not unless theh Sovereigns kept teh power innit."

"What do you mean?" Yamaki frowned. "It's glowing, it's humming, there's power in it."

"Actually if you look carefully the Core is transcendent," Dorumon pointed out. "When it's transcendent like that it means that all the energy is removed, what's left is the shell which is emitting left over radiation."

"And theht orb is white," Beelzemon pointed out. "Digi-Cores are red."

Yamaki looked to the Core, now noticing that it was indeed transcendent, he could see through the glass shell to the inside where a small flickering flame lay. But Yamaki could have sworn that it did not look like that months ago, when Fanglongmon handed it to him the shell was thick and hard, he couldn't see inside.

"It didn't look like that six months ago," Yamaki offered. "It looked normal."

"What could have happened?" Dorumon asked.

"Perhaps, I could explain?" asked a soft tranquil voice.

They all whirled around, finding an Angewoman stood in the doorway. Her garbs were different to that of other Angewoman, her clothes were layered with soft powdered gold, there was gold sown into her sashes and even her helmet was of some soft gold. She held a small golden lyre in her hands, the two prong heads shaped like a dragon's head.

"Who are you and how did you find us?" Yamaki demanded.

"Yamaki!" Beelzemon hissed. "'Tis is teh Golden Angewoman, she is teh only Digimon - besides teh Sovereigns - who knows where Fanglongmon is. She is ultra powerful, if she's here tehn-"

"Then I must have some important news from Lord Fanglongmon," she finished.

"Is it... bad news?" Dorumon asked warily.

"No, of course not," she laughed. "It is good news, concerning the Digi-Core. I understand that by now it must be very fragile in appearance, I assure you that it was meant to loose its power."

"Why?" Beelzemon frowned.

"As you are aware of by now," she began, "Serena has undergone two digital transformations. First into her first form or True Form, a jumbled mess of several Digimon, and now her newest form, LadyNeoDevimon."

They didn't inquire as to how she knew all of that, she was the only Digimon Fanglongmon trusted with even his secrets, it was of no surprise that she too was aware of the daily occurrences of Serena's strange life.

"The problem is that both forms were unstable," she continued. "Unlike Yumiko, Serena can't control what she absorbs and what she turns into. So her digitalized cells take what energy is available and act on their own accord, our Lord wanted to help Serena stabilize these cells so she reverts into only one form permanently, like Yumiko's DNA was perfectly integrated with that of a LadyDevimon."

"You did mention that the Digi-Core emits radiation," Yamaki said. "Has Serena been absorbing the power for the last six months?"

"Correct," Angewoman nodded. "Think of it like when a magnet pulls in the absorbing forces, Serena has been absorbing all of the Digi-Core's energy and slowly it has been absorbing and converting the energy already inside her. Soon Serena will be a whole new Digimon, the first Digimon made completely of Sovereign energy."

"Sovereign...mon," Dorumon smirked. "She'd be Sovereignmon, right?"

"Too much of a mouthful," Beelzemon commented.

"When will we know when all of her digitalized cells have been converted?" Yamaki answered. "I don't want her having difficulties whilst in battle."

"As soon as that single flame is out Serena will be unable to use her NeoDevimon helmet," Angewoman answered. "Then you will know. She will become a powerful Digimon, her powers that of an angelic type. She will be more than a fair match for Darknessmon then."

The trio turned to the small glowing orb, where the flame was clinging to the last embers of life. Beelzemon felt the warm presence of Golden Angewoman fade away, he turned back to the door, finding that she had slipped back to the Digital World through the cracks between the worlds.

He left in search of Serena, deciding to inform her of the new information they had received. He was glad to hear that Serena was finally going to settle into one form, he had been worried that perhaps if she did not stay in one form then all the different energies would cause problems for her.

Now he was excited as to what she was going to turn into.

...

_The Digital World_

Darknessmon was sleeping again, openly and publicly, in front of his Dragons. It was a worrying sight, he had never allowed himself to be shown in such a vulnerable state before, either his time-consuming duties were finally taking his toll or there was a reason for his long-sleeping hours.

Chaosdramon hesitated by the open doorways to the large chamber, looking at the slumped posture of his Lord. He wanted to sneak up on his Lord and see what face lay beneath the hood, but as Goldramon assured him they would soon come to meet the face that all would soon know.

"He sleeps all day then retires to his chambers at night," Goldramon commented. "What **is** he planning?"

"And what's next for us?" Chaosdramon added. "Wingdramon's dead, Reptiledramon bit the big one, Darkdramon dug his own grave and now Strikedramon is missing. There's only two of us, we can't take those bastards with just two of us."

"You are a _mega_, Chaosdramon," Goldramon frowned, "yet you underestimate your own abilities. You are Chaosdramon, your name makes even the insects tremble, why are you afraid of a Demon Lord, a Royal Knight and their underlings?"

"Those _'underlings'_ killed most of us," Chaosdramon snarled. "You should not underestimate them, they would never underestimate us."

Goldramon snorted, "I will prove to you and Lord Darknessmon that they are nothing to be afraid of," he growled.

He slivered off, Chaosdramon watched him vanish into the darkness, then turned to throne chamber. Darknessmon appeared before him, he squealed and whirled back wildly. Darknessmon grinned at the reaction, Chaosdramon shamefully covered his face with his hands. How long had Darknessmon been standing there? And how much had he heard?

"My Lord-"

"You squeal like a human baby," Darknessmon barked a laugh.

"Yes, I know," Chaosdramon admitted.

"Where is Goldramon going?" Darknessmon asked.

Appearantly he had not been standing in the doorway for long.

"He wishes to prove that Serena and her companions are weak," Chaosdramon answered. "Shall I retrieve him? He will only get himself killed."

"No," Darknessmon removed the cloak from his hide and threw it the ground. "My plans are near completion, the Promised Day is at hand and if he is to miss it then it is his loss."

Chaosdramon starred at his Lord, getting a good look at him in the dim light. He managed to make out the basic stucture, but the dim light made it hard to see him clearly, the only clear thing was that white grin. The way Darknessmon smiled, that bone chilling leer, it reminded Chaosdramon of Yumiko. It seems Darknessmon was a perfect partner for Yumiko, but Yumiko never mentioned or openly spoke of the_ 'Promised Day'_, whatever that was.

"The darkness is coming," Darknessmon chortled as he descended into the darkness. "I am coming for you Serena Usagi, just you wait, you _will_ be mine."

...

_The Human World_

"I'm going to become a Sovereign?"

"Uh, not exactly."

Serena sat at the round kitchen table, starring in shock at Yamaki as he relayed to her and Magnamon what Golden Angewoman had shared with them earlier that day. Beelzemon looked on in amusement, delighting in Serena's expression as she was told of the energy that was coursing through her. Though she had taken it the wrong way.

"Your power will come from the Sovereign's," Yamaki explained. "You will not be one of them, but your energy will be of a similar spectrum. We don't know what exactly what the outcome will be, but we expect something of an Angel type, or even a God Beast or Holy Dragon type."

"Can you imagine me as God Beast?" Serena said. "I'm happy with being an Angel type... even if they are my least favourite of all Digimon."

"Take what yer given," Beelzemon smiled. "We don't get teh choose what we get teh be."

Serena went to protest with a weak argument, the phone rang out, disrupting her. She turned to frown at the phone, then got to her feet and went to answer. Beelzemon began to discuss the planned patrol for the day, they needed to keep a closer eye on Darknessmon now that he had only half his Dragons, he may get desperate.

"Hello?" Serena cheerfully answered. "Tom... ? Hey, slow down, I can't understand you..."

Beelzemon looked to Serena, falling silent as he tried to pick out what was said. They all joined him in the silence, none of them particularly fond of Tom. Why would he be phoning now after what he had done? Beelzemon was tempted to take the phone and tell Tom to shove his own somewhere dark, but he resisted the urge, he was curious to find out what Tom had to say.

"Wait, what?" Serena gasped. "Darknessmon was _in_ your dreams? That had happened to me too. What did he say? ... _'The darkness is coming'_? What the hell does** that** mean? Right, okay, Tom listen to me - stay with your aunt and keep Gatomon with yo- What do you mean Gatomon's gone?"

...

"I didn't notice until this morning," Tom answered. "I thought she was in my bag, where she had been before that dream, but when you didn't pick up the phone earlier I went to get her and... and she's gone."

He forced his sob down, choking on it as it went.

He stood in the open back door of the neighbour's house, holding the cordless phone and feeling the icy tears run down his face. He was stupid to not check on Gatomon sooner, but the dream had freaked him out so much he wasn't sure of himself or his reality. He was positive the vision where he stood in his cold bedroom was just a dream, but when he was back on the train with Darknessmon standing before him, was that a dream?

"I'm... I'm scared, Serena," Tom cried. "What if he killed Gatomon? I... I don't know what's happening to me. Why would he come after me?"

"Tom, I honestly don't know," Serena answered in a soothing tone. "But there's no evidence that Gatomon is dead, is your Digivice showing static on the screen?"

He pulled it out of his back pocket, he saw the screen was cleared and felt such relief at the sight of it he fell to his knees. "I'm so stupid," he laughed and wiped his tears away with a fist. "She's alive, she's fine."

"She may not be dead but he may have her captured," Serena said. "Sorry to rain on your parade and all, but you need to stay with her aunt, keep your Digivice close and wait for any signs. Anything. Darknessmon may still be after you."

"Right," he nodded. "... Seren?"

"... Yeah?" she answered hesitantly.

"I'm... sorry," he apologized, "for what I did and said while we were in the city. I guess what you said about the Demon Lord, it was a bit of a shock that's all. It's not something you hear everyday."

"I guess not," she smiled weakly. "Tom, before I go, is there anything else Darknessmon said that could be of any help?"

"Well..." Tom stared down at his shadow, frowning. "He said he wanted my soul."

...

"This is a** very** bad idea, Goldramon," warned the red skinned Digimon. "You would loose your soul for a human?"

Goldramon turned to glare at Phelesmon, the aristocrat-like Fallen Angel stood on the other end of the rooftop, leaning on his crimson trident. Goldramon glared at Phelesmon, it had no effect, Phelesmon was used to far worse glares from the Demon Lords. While good friends with many of the Demon Lords, he had occasionally spurned their wrath.

The cracks between the two worlds had begun to thin, it was getting harder to pass between the two and Goldramon had no time to waste on searching for a portal. So he sought out Phelesmon, who was notorious for making deals, but in exchange would require your soul as payment.

Beelzemon had in fact approached him for a portal to find his dear Serena, but as an old drinking buddy of the Demon Lord Phelesmon could not bring himself to take his friend's soul. While few were aware of this (and even fewer who would risk telling another), it seemed that even demons had hearts somewhere in their bodies.

"The deal was you would take my soul if I failed," Goldramon reminded him. "And I will not fail."

"We shall about that," Phelesmon smirked.

"What was that?" Goldramon hissed.

"Say hello to Beelzemon for me," Phelesmon answered, "and I will see you later."

Phelesmon vanished in a smog of red smoke, which vanished along the breeze and clear scorch marks were visible on the ground. Phelesmon may be infamous for his deals, and for having a contract none of have yet managed to sneak out of, but Goldramon was determined to be the first to better the demon.

"Now then," he said, "it is time I make myself known to the world."

He outstretched his arms and wings, feeling a warm power seeping through his skin until it surrounded him in a heavenly golden glow. _God Flame._ The golden glow twisted into sharp tentacles, exploding from his form and spreading into the town. The tentacles grappled onto the surrounding buildings, causing the bricks to turn gold before exploding into a harsh spray of shrapnel that rained down onto the vulnerable humans.

The cries of humans rained out, followed by the screech tyres as cars attempted to avoid the debris. He delighted in the sound. For a Holy Dragon Digimon Goldramon had fallen far from grace, once one of the Four Great Dragons he had been replaced by another of his kind when he sought to use his powers to rule over those weaker than himself. He thought he would never regain his throne and fly higher than all, until Yumiko came along.

"I will show you Chaosdramon," Goldramon growled. "I will fly higher than the rest, higher than you and higher than Lord D- no, Darknessmon. I will prove it to even you."

...

The explosions could be seen even from that far end of town, the floor trembled beneath Serena's feet and as she turned to the window she saw smoke billowing to the skies, darkening it harshly. Dorugoramon and Magnamon had already headed to the scene, under Yamaki's orders to go and try to protect whatever humans had gotten caught in the cross fire.

Serena headed into her bedroom, grabbing her NeoDevimon helmet. Beelzemon and Yamaki waited for her in the living room, Beelzemon's wings trembling slightly and Serena saw he was worried. The Dragons had been violent before, but never had they gone as so far as to damage so much of the town. They really were getting desperate.

"Yamaki, stay 'ere," Beelzemon ordered.

"Oh, don't worry," Yamaki smirked. "I'm not a fighter, more of a punching bag."

Serena smiled and placed the NeoDevimon helmet over her head, but there came no familiar glow. Serena didn't transform. She pulled the helmet off and tried again, again she remained human. She pulled it off and stared at the helmet in disbelief, she couldn't have absorbed all the Digi-Core energy already, could she?

"Beelzemon," Yamaki turned to him. "Go find whoever is causing all this trouble. I'll stay here with Serena and try to help her harness her new powers -_ go!_"

"Uh, right!" Beelzemon headed to the window, stopping to turn to Serena and gave her a comforting smile.

Her smile returned and she watched the dark angel fly away, when he vanished from sight she turned to her father, "Alright," she said. "Let's see what kind of Digimon I turned out to be."

...

Dorugoramon landed beside a small bakery, the left side of the building completely crushed and the mournful cries of humans clear amongst the sirens that consumed the air. She called Magnamon over, he was about the right size to fit into the crack in the window, he ran towards her and into the bakery, grabbing four barely concious humans and carrying them outside.

"Any more inside?" she asked.

"I didn't sense any other presences inside," Magnamon answered as he gently laid down the humans. "Even if there are more inside I can't risk going in, the ceiling is collapsed and I can't fit in. We have to leave it to the humans now."

"Damn it," she swore. "Who the hell has this kind of power?"

"Can't you tell?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "How can you tell?

"The air has a static charge," he explained. "Of the remaining Dragons only one is capable of creating such an atmospheric change - Goldramon released his holy spirit in the form of God Flame, causing all of this widespread damage."

"Goldramon?" she repeated. "He's a mega, right?"

Magnamon nodded, "Beelzemon is probably on his way," he answered. "Let's just take care of humans."

They moved on when an ambulance came for the four humans and made their way to the school, Magnamon was positive it had been a school day and he hated the thought of human children being caught in the fray. He only hoped Goldramon's powers didn't reach that far.

His hopes were dashed when they came to the school, the roof half-crushed on the right wing and the windows shattered. They ran to the main hall, hoping that the students and teachers had the sense to escape somewhere safe until help arrived. To their relief they found the students and teachers inside, some teachers treating student wounds and a few teachers being treated by a Digimon.

Magnamon gasped at the sight of Strikedramon, sat beside a woman and bandaging a nasty looking gash to the forearm. Dorugoramon growled at the sight of the Dragon, Magnamon raised his hand, signalling for her to calm herself. She did, but still looked annoyed at the sight of Strikedramon.

"Strikedramon!" Magnamon beamed. "I now see who's side you have decided to take."

She looked at him and smiled, "Yes, after I saw Goldramon release his God Flame I realized how uncomfortable I was with the idea of harming the humans," she answered. "I'm here to help now, Darknessmon be damned I will tell you all his secrets."

"Excellent," Magnamon grinned. "Now we are finally making some progress." He clutched her hand, "Welcome to the Anti-Dragon Resistance," he congratulated. "Now, what is needed of us?"

...

Beelzemon flew above the carnage Goldramon had caused, half of the town lay in ruin with buildings shattered, cars charred and he was certain he had sighted a body bag or two. He had sensed the holy spirit charge along the air, knowing who his enemy was he was positive he was going to kill the Dragon with his bear hands.

Beelzemon had not yet managed to get his hands on any of the Dragons, he wanted the satisfaction of killing at least one of them before they faced off against their leader. Only one half of the town had been decimated, he had to find Goldramon before he made his way to the other half of the town and came across Serena.

He came across Goldramon atop a crumbling building, he hung back, sweeping around to Goldramon's blind spot. He raised his Corona Blaster, feeling a sharp tingle run up along his entire frame as the energy gathered in the mouth of his blaster. The kick-back from the blow sent him back a few feet, but he regained his angle and watched as the purple energy blast hit the Dragon.

An deafening explosion consumed the Dragon, but Beelzemon sensed it had no effect on him. Goldramon appeared from the smoke, swinging his tail like a sharp whip that cracked against his chest. He was thrown back, through the window of a house and onto a wooden table, that broke in two under his weight.

"Good thin' no one's home," he muttered as he dived out of the window.

He joined Goldramon in the air, firing several sharp bursts. Goldramon weaved between each blow, flying high up so the sun blinded Beelzemon's eyes. He outstretched his arms, the two vambraces on either wrist glowing - the left a disturbing shade of black and the right a startling crimson. Beelzemon sighted the two glows, frowning as he tried to figure out what Goldramon was planning.

"_Shoukan_," Goldramon summoned. "_Kouen no Amon_!" - a tiny red Dragon Digimon appeared from his right wrist, sparking like a thick bolt of scarlet lightning - "_Sourai no Umon_!" - another tiny dragon appeared, this one a black bolt of lightning.

The two streak of colour danced around him, the loud hiss of power escalating until it was a harsh continuous hum. "You recognize these creatures, yes?" Goldramon smirked. "Amon of Red Flame, who governs over destruction, and Umon of Blue Thunder, who governs over regeneration."

Amon and Umon turned to Beelzemon, their yellow eyes glowing in the darkened light. Beelzemon was aware that Amon and Umon were powerful, but he wasn't too sure what they were capable of. Goldramon lowered his arms and the two orbs of power charged towards him, Beelzemon dived out of the way, but they were quick and caught up with him.

Umon hung back, hovering behind its brethren which came hissing at Beelzemon like a demonic bolt of power. Beelzemon erratically dashed between buildings, trying to loose his tail. He wasn't sure what Amon was capable of, but he wasn't keen on finding out what it was it did.

Beelzemon lost sight of the red glow, he began to turn back to try and sneak up on Goldramon. A loud hiss caught his attention, a little too late. Amon dived into his back, between the space of his wings, and sent an intense pain along his body. Beelzemon screamed in agony, feeling fire spread along his wings and he fell to the ground.

He landed on a car, the metal collapsing in on itself as the Demon Lord landed with a bone-shattering crash of tearing metal and shattering glass. Beelzemon gasped loudly in shock, rolling off the roof onto the road, glad he was made of tougher stuff. If he had been a human then the fall would have definitely killed him.

Beelzemon coughed, feeling a pain in his lungs, and staggered to his feet. Goldramon appeared before him, Umon hovering to his left with a sneer across its face. Beelzemon glared at Goldramon, pulling some glass from his hide. Beelzemon caught the scent of something burning, but paid no attention to it, he was sure the flames to his wings had damped when he had fallen.

"Fight me like a Digimon," he snapped. "Stop hidin' behind yer stupid glowin' lights!"

"Amon and Umon are essential to my survival," Goldramon smirked. "Just like how your wings were essential to your survival."

"_Were?_" Beelzemon repeated curiously.

He turned his head, trying to get a look at his wings, and found nothing but a small pair of steaming, fleshy stumps where the remaining black wings were singed and scorched by the flames of Umon. Beelzemon snarled and bared his teeth, whirling to face Goldramon. His wings had been a major part of his life, he grew them the very day he told Serena he loved her.

Loosing his wings... it was too hard to bear. Serena had always loved them, how would she feel when she was told that the physical manifestation of their life had been so cruelly taken away?

"Ya bastard!" he swore. "I'll kill ya fer 'tis!"

"You have to come and get me first," Goldramon laughed. "Or can you not reach?"

"I don't need ah pair of wings tah kick yer ugly hide!" Beelzemon snarled.

"Oh, really?" Goldramon teased.

Beelzemon smiled deviously and jumped, Goldramon gasped, realizing Beelzemon could reach him. The Demon Lord swung his leg, catching Goldramon by the thigh. Goldramon swayed to the side, Beelzemon twisted his body, catching Goldramon's head with his tail and swung another foot down into Goldramon's face.

He crashed to the ground, clutching his nose as he landed on his pains painfully. Umon hissed at Beelzemon, but unable to act without order, could do nothing but hiss. Beelzemon landed before Goldramon, grabbing him by the arms and twisting them behind his back. Goldramon cried out in pain, feeling his joints creak as Beelzemon pulled them.

"Don't!" Goldramon cried. "You can't break my arms off!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Beelzemon growled. "Ya took my wings, I'll take yer arms. It's ah fair trade."

"You lower life form!" Goldramon hissed. "I will not die by your hands, or by any others!"

"Oh, I ain't goin' tah kill ya - yet," Beelzemon smiled. "Yer deserve to pay fer crimes in theh most slow an' painful death imaginable!"

Beelzemon pulled, listening to the sound of tearing flesh and Goldramon's arms came free of his body with one hard tug, the limbs exploding into shards of data Beelzemon quickly absorbed. Umon and Amon hissed loudly, sounded pained. Beelzemon turned to the energies, watching as they fizzled in and out before exploding into data also.

Without the vambraces Umon and Amon had no hold on the physical plain, Beelzemon just wished he had the opportunity to do so earlier. Maybe he could have spared himself the loss of his wings. The Dragons were not so tough, if one knew the best way to take them out. Beelzemon had never liked solely relaying on his weapons, he had always found satisfaction in brining down an opponent with his bare hands.

He grabbed Goldramon by the neck, preparing to take him to the proper human authority. A cloud of red smoke appeared before Beelzemon, startling him. A Digimon emerged from the smoke, Beelzemon sighed in relief and rolled his eyes at the sight of Phelesmon.

"Jeez, ya coulda given me a heart-attack," Beelzemon smiled. "I though yer was someone else."

"My friend, you have no heart," Phelesmon replied. "I'm fairly confident that you will not face your death by cardiac arrest."

"Why are you here?" Beelzemon asked.

"For him," Phelesmon answered as he pointed to Goldramon. "He made a deal with me and now he must pay."

"I can't let ya," Beelzemon said. "Goldramon needs teh pay fer what he did teh 'tis town."

"Oh, he'll pay," Phelesmon smiled darkly. "His soul will writhe for an eternity, suffering the pain of defeat until I meet my own end."

Beelzemon looked to Goldramon, who gave him a pleading look. Beelzemon smiled and threw Goldramon to Phelesmon's feet, Goldramon shied away and tried to squirm away, Phelesmon stood on his tail and grabbed him by the back of the neck, lifting him up high.

Phelesmon opened his mouth, and did what few Digimon could do, make Beelzemon squirm. Phelesmon swallowed Goldramon. His jaw extending to fit in the Digimon and he swallowed Goldramon with a sickening slurp, sucking him down like a thick noodle and licking his lips gleefully at the taste of fresh Digimon. Beelzemon felt his stomach churn.

"Ya are, by far, the sickest Digimon I know," Beelzemon said.

"I beg to differ," Phelesmon smirked. "Now, old friend, I must ask - are you ready for this?"

"Fer what?" Beelzemon asked.

"The end," Phelesmon answered. "These fights have just been a build-up to the end of the battle, the end of the war, you may have killed most of the Dragons but Darknessmon still lives. Until he is dead the war will forever rage."

Beelzemon went to ask how Phelesmon knew so much, but decided it was pointless. Phelesmon knew much, there was nothing anyone could really hide from it, it was the reason he was one of the most trusted allies of the Demon Lords. If he decided to share the information with the Royal Knights it could spell the end of the Demon Lords.

"I ask again, old friend," Phelesmon no longer smiled and seemed genuinely concerned for his old friend's welfare. "Are you ready for the Promised Day?"

_To Be Continued..._


	15. Chaos & Darkness

**Episode 15 **

**Chaos & Darkness**

_The Digital World_

Chaosdramon could admit it - he was nervous. It was not something the powerful mega could easily admit to himself or even to others, he had always been confident in his own abilities and his formidable power, and when he joined the Six Dragons he had been sure that he would live forever as one of the rulers of the new world order.

But now he wasn't so sure of himself.

He was the last of the Six Dragons, all had perished at the hands of the Anti-Dragon Resistance and the only ones who remained was he and possibly even Strikedramon - but she had disappeared days ago and neither he nor Darknessmon knew what had become of her.

With Goldramon being the fool he was, Darknessmon's resources had whittled away into almost nothing. But he wasn't worried about Darknessmon, the Promised Day was almost at hand and all that was required was a few more hours of patience before his leader moved his knight into play. What Chaosdramon was more concentred about was his own hide.

He was made of Red Digizoid (the strongest alloy of Chrome Digizoid), but even with such an armour at his disposal he was afraid of meeting a dreadful fate at the hands of the Resistance. He wasn't going to survive to see the Promised Day, not unless he somehow managed to beat all four of them.

He sat at the foot of Darknessmon's throne, debating his next move. Chaosdramon was a little smarter than the other members of his species; most Chaosdramon would blindly jump into battle and get killed without regard for their safety. He, on the other hand, would prefer to live and see the next day. If he lived to see the Promised Day there would be untold riches awaiting him, but if he failed he either died at the hands of the Resistance or Darknessmon himself would finish him off.

Chaosdramon would prefer not to be consumed by his Lord like all the other Dragons had been. While at the end there was six of them, there had been thirty to start off with. But the numbers were slowly whittled down as Yumiko tore out the weak components, leaving out of the strong and the capable. Chaosdramon wondered if keeping such a small number of Dragons had been such a good idea, if there had been thirty of them they would have been able to keep the Resistance distracted for longer and they would not have to worry about the success of the Promised Day.

The throne room's doors groaned loudly as they were opened and Darknessmon entered the chamber, his fine armour glinting in the dark and his talons curled around the heavy swore at his side. Darknessmon had stopped wearing his cloak now, it seemed with only one Dragon left there was no point in keeping any secrets.

"Lord Darknessmon," Chaosdramon bowed respectively.

"Don't bow, Chaosdramon," Darknessmon ordered. "I need you on your feet."

"My, lord?" Chaosdramon asked.

He stood and Darknessmon fell into his throne, leaning back with his legs on the arm of the Gothic stone sculpture. Darknessmon stared ahead for a long moment, his brilliant red eyes seeming to pass through this world and into the next. A small smile came across his thin lips. Chaosdramon frowned slightly.

"I need you to go to the Human World," Darknessmon ordered. "Strikedramon has betrayed us - she has allied herself with Serena. I want you to find her and kill her."

"What if the others come for me?" Chaosdramon asked in a voice that was shamefully meek.

"Afraid, are we?" Darknessmon smirked cruelly.

"N-no, my lord," Chaosdramon stammered. "It's just... it's just me... I won't stand a chance against five of them."

"No need to worry," Darknessmon said. "I want you to kill only Strikedramon, as for the others you can thrash them, batter them or dismember them. Anything you want. I want you to injure and maim them, I don't want them dead yet."

"Oh... may I ask why?" Chaosdramon inquired.

"Isn't it obvious?" Darknessmon laughed. "I want them to bear witness to the Promised Day and watch as I crush their world into dust."

Chaosdramon nodded obediently and quickly scuttled out of the chamber, heading to the portal kept beneath the castle's basement. The doors creaked shut and Darknessmon pulled out his large sword, looking at the reflection of his scarlet eyes across the clean blade. He ran a talon across its surface, hearing the blade whisper and call to him.

"Not to worry my pet," he purred. "I will quench your first with the blood of a Demon Lord. That shall satisfy us both."

...

_The Human World_

Serena clenched her fists tightly, feeling her nails bite into her pale flesh, willing herself to change. She could feel the spark deep inside her, it was different to the other times she had changed, it felt different. The first spark of her change was a strange, multicoloured orb of random shapes and thoughts, random Digimon combined into something that was not entirely human nor entirely Digimon. The second spark had been dark, like a little black flame as cool as coal and as black as Lucemon's soul.

But neither of them had been her.

Serena was meant to be only one Digimon, not a jumbled mess and not a Fallen Angel, she was meant to be something specific. She was supposed to be the Guardian of Earth, the peace keeper of the two worlds, and she was supposed to have a form that would be hers and only hers. So why couldn't she take the next step and actually transform?

Serena let out an annoyed grunt and fell into the chair, sweat glistening on her forehead. It was surprisingly tiring, each time she dug deep for that spark she would only get so far. She could feel it inside of her, it had converted the dark flame into something else, something warm, something that was pumping through her veins like a drug - but when she reached out to grab it she would be pulled back by some unseen force.

What was stopping her?

Yamaki had a theory that she wasn't charging her Digisoul enough; it was the thing that allowed other humans to charge their Digivice and allow their Digimon to evolve into the next stage. It was clear her Digisoul acted differently to other humans, it charged her and allowed her to evolve into the next stage. But maybe her Digisoul wasn't charged enough to push her into the next phase.

"You still can't do it?" Yamaki guessed.

Serena sighed and looked up at her father, he sat across the room in another chair, legs crossed casually and studying her as one would a lab rat. Beelzemon, Magnamon, Dorumon and Strikedramon had all volunteered to help the townspeople clean up, it was clearly much appreciated and it would help to fix the fragile human/Digimon relationship.

"I just don't know what I'm doing wrong," Serena groaned. "I've done it before, so why can't I do it now?"

"Maybe because this time its different," Yamaki suggested. "The first time you were forced into transforming, the second time round you merely wore something that enhanced and quickened the process. This time its just you with no one to help you."

"But every time I find the spark I get pulled back," Serena told him. "Something's holding me back."

"Perhaps what's holding you back is yourself," Yamaki proposed. "Seren, honey, you're going to become a very powerful Digimon handed the responsibility of defeating some psychotic Digimon with clear issues. If you change now you might never again be human, we have no idea how this is going to affect you."

Serena fell silent.

Yamaki breathed lightly through his nose, he got to his feet and rubbed his hands. "I'm going to dissemble that infernal machine in the spare room," he announced. "I think I'll recycle the scrap and get some spare money, it might be useful to have a few extra yen on hand."

"I'll come help you later," Serena said. "I'm going to try a few more times."

"Good luck, honey," Yamaki smiled.

Serena waved at him and settled into the seat, starring up at the old ceiling fan that spun slowly, around and around, groaning with each little turn. Maybe she was tackling this problem from the wrong angle, she was forcing herself to change, forcing herself into something she wasn't entirely prepared to be.

She had to ease into it, she had to accept that she was going to change, but change was good a thing. She was going to become a powerful Digimon, with power given to her directly by the Sovereigns. She had to change, not because she wanted to, but because she needed to in order to protect her friends.

She set her head back and closed her eyes, trying to think of the best way to focus on the spark without trying too hard. It had to be easy, like slipping on a helmet, just allowing the energy to manifest itself and take its own form. She shouldn't force it.

Serena dug deep, searching deep within her soul for the spark, taking only seconds to feel flickers of it. When she found it she didn't try to grab it, to force it to her will, she didn't even think about it. Serena thought of something else, allowing the energy to feel her soul call for her, and she thought of the most mundane thing possible.

She thought of the fan, imagining it in her mind, hearing its resistant groans as it spun slowly around and around. The energy began to spread, warm and spreading throughout her like hot butter, filling every vein, converting every cell, making her body glow within a blanket of gold. She could feel the energy shaping her body, changing it, making her the Digimon she was meant to be.

Serena stayed focused on the fan and its movements, allowing her mind to be free of any distractions. The energy had its own mind, its own will, and she wasn't meant to force it. She had to find it, prod it and allow it work its magic. Serena opened her eyes, a heavenly yellow glow flooding her eyes.

Any moment, any second, Serena was going to be a new Digimon. The image of the fan faded from her mind and she saw a Digimon, a shadowy figure who stood amongst a background of gold, the shadows across their form concealing their identity from her. She managed to make out some features, very vague but she was sure she could see four wings and two items, one held in each one, one of which was a sword.

The figure sheathed the sword and outstretched their hand, slim fingers with black nails, a familiar hand, her hand. Serena felt herself reach forwards, reaching for that perfect form -

The phone buzzed loudly, shattering the image in her mind and pulling her from the figure in her mind. The golden glow flickered from her eyes and body, returning her to her human form. Serena stared up at the fan, her hand outstretched, all traces of the spark gone.

She swore loudly and slammed a fist against the chair, she had come _so_ close! She stormed towards the phone, ripping it from the receiver and was determined to shout at whoever had broken her connection.

"What?" she snapped.

"Oh, Serena, honey, that's not a nice tone," purred a voice.

Serena froze up, her blood chilling at the familiar voice. She clutched the phone tightly, gritting her teeth and wondering if Darknessmon knew what she was attempting to do. He had spoiled her chance at changing, had he known what she was attempting to do and decided to ruin her moment?

"It's you isn't it..." she said quietly. "How did you get this number, Darknessmon?"

"Serena, honey, I have contacts everywhere," he laughed. "Finding your number was no problem."

"What do you want?" she growled.

"I want to give you a heads up," he replied. "I know Strikedramon is working for you now, I have sent my last remaining Dragon to kill the traitorous bitch."

"Why are you warning me?" she asked.

"Because while Chaosdramon goes after Strikedramon, and the rest of the Resistance may I add, I am going after your heart," he sneered. "Chaosdramon is going to destroy Strikedramon and cripple your goals, and I am going to pulverise your heart. Now do you understand? You can either save Strikedramon or your heart, easy choice right?"

The line went dead.

Serena put the phone back on the hook, a frown pinching at her forehead. What exactly did he mean, how could he go after her heart? To do that Darknessmon would have to cross over into the Human World; he would expose himself just to attack her heart?

And what exactly did he mean by heart? Was he going to attack Beelzemon? Chaosdramon was going after the Resistance, that included Beelzemon, so who was Darknessmon going after? Serena's mind flashed to her father in the spare room, she thought of her friends at home, her mother on the other side of town.

Who was Darknessmon after?

...

"Lift with your knees!"

Beelzemon turned to glare at Magnamon, but the short Royal Knight just smirked smugly. All of them were covered in mud, dirt and dust, muscles strained and flesh raw. They had been working since the crack of dawn; now late into the evening Beelzemon wondered just how far the humans would have progressed with the clean-up operation if they didn't have the Digimon on hand.

"Shouldn't you be helping?" Dorugoramon asked, shaking dust from her fur.

"I'm resting," Magnamon replied. "I've been cleaning up the mess left at the school."

Beelzemon rolled his eyes and looked back to the work that was left for them. Much of the town's houses had been destroyed, roofs falling in, top storey floors collapsing onto the next, the job was to clear the homes of debris, making sure there were no bodies inside and trying to make sure that the rest of the building didn't fall in on itself.

Those who had found themselves without homes had moved in with friends or relatives, others went into the community centre until the school was deemed safe. The local children were happy; until the school was deemed safe they ordered to stay at home. Only one person had died during Goldramon's attack, an elderly pensioner who had been unable to escape from their destroyed building in time. More had been injured, but it was that one death that annoyed them the most.

If they had been quicker they could have stopped Goldramon.

"Where'd Strikedramon go?" Beelzemon asked.

Magnamon looked around him and hummed, "Strange, she was here a moment ago."

"Doru, go fly up an' take ah look 'round," Beelzemon ordered. "I have ah bad feelin' 'bout tis."

Dorugoramon obeyed and took off into the sky, her heavy wings sending dust and debris scattering across the ground and in their direction. Magnamon glanced at Beelzemon, wondering if now was a good time to ask about his wings. He knew what had happened to Beelzemon, he knew Beelzemon's wings were gone.

He had seen the fleshy stumps that stuck out of Beelzemon's backs, even though Beelzemon had been sure to hide them and had not told anyone - not even Serena - he had not been able to conceal them entirely. The night he lost them he went straight into the bathroom and from Magnamon had gathered he had tried to re-grow them.

Not that such a thing was possible, it would take months or even years for them to grow back, and if he was truly unfortunate they might never grow back. Deep down Beelzemon must have known there was a good possibility they might never grow back, but Magnamon felt he was in denial.

"How many Dragons are left?" Beelzemon asked suddenly.

"Um... I think Strikedramon said there was one left," Magnamon answered.

He reached into his armour and pulled out the curled up map, he opened it up and had a quick look, spotting a foreign light in the Human World. He folded the map back up and slid it back into his armour, Beelzemon saw the look in his eyes and he knew that there was trouble ahead.

"Soon as Chaosdramon is taken care of we go after Darknessmon," Beelzemon declared. "We'll stop 'im before he can cause any more damage."

"We better go find Dorugoramon and Strikedramon," Magnamon said. "We need to think of a plan."

Magnamon began to hover, crossing his arms and hovered over Beelzemon, looking at him expectedly. Beelzemon swore, knowing that Magnamon had caught him out. He had hoped to keep it hidden, then when - and if - his wings grew back he could just pretend none of it had happened.

"Why didn't you tell us, Bee?" Magnamon asked.

"Ya don't understand," Beelzemon sighed. "I got those wings teh day I told Seren I love 'er, now that their gone it's like..." he sighed again, lost for words as to how to describe the soul-crushing pain in his heart.

"Serena will understand," Magnamon said soothingly. "She loves you for you, even before the wings."

A smile pulled at the Demon Lord's lips, the feeling in his heart softening slightly. Magnamon had a point, while his wings were a physical manifestation of the day he pronounced his love, what they had now was far more powerful than any symbol or mark. They knew they loved one another, he didn't a pair of wings to remind him of the fact he had the bravery to allow himself to love another in return.

"Now," Magnamon smiled. "Where's Doru?"

A large shadow came over them, blocking the light of day, and a huge body fell from the sky. It landed with a deafening thud, shattering the ground beneath it in a storm of thick dust and sharp debris. Beelzemon and Magnamon cried out, throwing their hands up in defence.

"What teh -" Beelzemon cried out.

Magnamon coughed, the dust chocking him. He waved his arms, trying to clear the thick dust cloud.

"Beelzemon, are you okay?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," Beelzemon answered. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Magnamon answered. "There's too much dust."

Magnamon hovered and outstretched his arms, beginning to spin in fast and tight circles. He began to pick up speed, a small cyclone pulling the thick dust from the air. The air began to clear, their sense of direction returning, and Beelzemon almost stumbled into a huge crater in the ground.

"Oh, shit!" he gasped.

It was deep, probably at least three metres deep. Beelzemon looked down, being careful not to fall in. He could see the shape of the body at the bottom of the crater, a huge and towering figure with thick wings. _Dorugoramon._ He gasped and jumped down into the crater, sliding down and falling to his knees besides her.

"Doru!" he called. "Wake up! C'mon, girl, wake up."

Dorugoramon groaned in pain. Her fur flaked in dust and blood, her body trembling with the mere effort of breathing. Her wings lay useless besides her, tattered and shredded. Looking at her in such a state he was reminded of the time she and the others suffered at the hands of Darkdramon.

Dorugoramon slowly awoke, her red eyes lined with tears. "Yuh... you..." she wheezed painfully. You g-g-gotta run!"

"Who did this?" Beelzemon asked. "Tell me so I can kill 'im!"

Dorugoramon breathed heavily, trying to speak the name of the one who had attempted to murder her. "Ch... Chaosdramon," she slurred on the last letter and fell unconscious, her huge body reverting back to its smaller rookie form.

Magnamon landed in the crater, carefully picking Dorumon up and cradling her in his arms. "We have to get her back to Yamaki," he said.

"Ya go," Beelzemon said. "I'll go after Chaosdramon."

"No," Magnamon said sternly. "You can't fly; you'll be at a major disadvantage."

"'e hurt Doru," Beelzemon growled, "'e's going teh pay."

Magnamon went to argue, but stopped and suddenly looked up. "Looks like there's no arguing over this," he said.

A frown pinched at Beelzemon's forehead, he took a moment before looking up, knowing who was there before even taking a quick look. Chaosdramon stood at the lip of the crater, the gun in his one hand sparking brightly. Beelzemon jumped out of the crater, grabbing the lip and throwing himself onto the ground in front of Chaosdramon.

"Bastard," he snarled. "Ya'll pay for tis."

"Orders are orders, I'm afraid," Chaosdramon replied simply. "But I can make this easier for you, give me Strikedramon and all this will be over with just a few minor scratches."

"Minor scratches?" Magnamon screeched, flying out of the hole. "You battered Dorumon, is that what you consider _'minor'_?"

"She was playing hard to get," Chaosdramon smirked.

Beelzemon bared his teeth, growling deeply. He pulled his Berenjena free of their restraints, aiming them at Chaosdramon's face. Chaosdramon calmly regarded them, while others feared the double barrel shot guns that Beelzemon so proudly used, he wasn't afraid of some bullets.

"I want Strikedramon," Chaosdramon repeated calmly. "Tell me where she is and I'll be on my way."

_He's lying,_ Magnamon realized. _He doesn't just want Strikedramon; otherwise he wouldn't have risked our wrath by attacking Doru._

Magnamon's eyes darted for a quick escape; he needed to get Dorumon out of harm's way before any further injury was inflicted upon her. He could hand her over to the local human authority if necessary; they should be able to keep her safe. Magnamon noticed something, high up in the sky, a Digimon charging towards Chaosdramon.

Magnamon went to call her name, order her to stop, but he couldn't allow her position to be given away. As bad as it was to allow her to blindly attack Chaosdramon, it would be even worse to give away her position.

Strikedramon charged towards Chaosdramon, bending one of her legs and straightened the other, delivering a sharp kick to the side of his face. He cried out in surprise, swinging his arms wildly. She delivered another quick kick to his side, and then jabbed at his ribs. He punched the side of her head, she staggered back.

Chaosdramon fell down onto his hunches, the two cannons on his back lightning up. _Hyper Mugen Cannon._ He fired energy waves from his back, the waves making a high pinched screech. The waves hit Strikedramon, the force sending her flying back into a building. The wall crumpled with a loud crash, the building fell in on her.

"All who defy Darknessmon will fall in the wake of the Promised Day," Chaosdramon roared. "Your bones will crumple to dust as the coming darkness comes for your souls, the new world order will corrupt you all and the Promised Day will change the world."

Chaosdramon turned to the Royal Knight and Demon Lord, raising his fire arm. Beelzemon fired two shots, the bullets bouncing off Chaosdramon's thick plated head. Chaosdramon fired in return, Beelzemon dived aside, but the ground crumbled beneath him and he fell.

Magnamon flew away, looking for any human authority. Several streets up he found a rescue crew, he landed and handed Dorumon over. They promised to take good care of her, after all, she had helped clean up half of the wreckage and her skills had been imperative in helping to air-lift the few who had been injured during Goldramon's rampage.

Magnamon then returned to the fight, firing several _Plasma Shoot_'s. Each shot bounced off of Chaosdramon's armour, each little shot that hit the ground exploded, enveloping him in a dust cloud. Chaosdramon burst out of the dust, flying towards Magnamon and delivering a hard punch to the gut.

Magnamon gasped loudly, trying to swing a punch. Chaosdramon slammed down onto the back of Magnamon's head, the small Royal Knight falling to the ground. Beelzemon swore loudly and put his Berejena away, they were going to be of no use against Chaosdramon's thick armour. He needed his Corona Blaster, but would it work without his wings?

Beelzemon outstretched his arm and summoned the Blaster, a bright flash of purple blinded his eyes and to his relief his Corona Blaster proudly lay attached to his arm. But he didn't feel his wings, were they ever going to grow back or was he to forever remain grounded?

He shook his head, unable to believe his own stupidity. He had spent most of his life using his beloved Behemoth to get around, when did he suddenly abandon his faithful motorbike for a pair of wings? As soon as he returned to the Digital World he was going to use his Behemoth for everything, his wings were easily forgotten.

Beelzemon fired a shot of powerful purple energy, it clipped Chaosdramon's shoulder and he faltered. The armour on his shoulder melted, falling away like sticky candle wax. He stared at his melted shoulder pad in shock. It was supposed to be indestructible; how the hell did one blast have such an affect?

Magnamon saw his opening, the fragile underplating beneath the Digizoid. If they could somehow manage to peel off the rest of Chaosdramon's Red Digizoid then Magnamon could take care of the shell beneath, but Beelzemon would need to let off dozens of quick consecutive shots. Unless...

"Beelzemon!" he called. "I got a plan, but I need you to use your Corona Destroyer."

"Ya'll need teh keep 'im still then," Beelzemon replied.

Magnamon nodded and charged towards Chaosdramon, landing several kicks on Chaosdramon's exposed shoulder. He roared in pain and swiped at Magnamon's head, the Royal Knight ducked low and caught Chaosdramon's feet with a low sweep. Beelzemon began to draw a pentagram in the air. The symbol began to glow, Beelzemon waited a moment, he needed Chaosdramon closer. Magnamon jumped away from Chaosdramon as he got to his feet, he charged towards Magnamon, roaring loudly. Magnamon jumped in front of the symbol, being sure not be so close Chaosdramon would realize what was happening.

Chaosdramon stumbled in front of the magic circle, Magnamon dived out of the way, and the hot blast of purple energy slammed into Chaosdramon.

He roared in pain, his Digizoid armour melting from his body, scorching the thin armour beneath and finding its way into his soft core. As the purple glow died down Magnamon ordered Beelzemon aside, the Demon Lord obeyed and jumped into the crater.

Magnamon crossed his arms over his chest in an X shape, summoning the infinite power of the Digi-Egg of Miracles. The air began to ripple like air waves, growing hot and stale, and Magnamon released the power in a golden blast of powerful energy that exploded from his body.

The blast rocked the ground, leaving scorch marks along the earth where the attack struck. The blast pulverized the Dragon, tearing him apart as the data was stripped from his body, it happened so fast he didn't even have time to scream. Magnamon collapsed to the ground, drained of all energy.

He looked up at the data, outstretching a hand as he absorbed the last few trickles of the data that hadn't been lost to the wind. Beelzemon climbed out of the crater, his arm returning to normal as the Corona Blaster vanished. He looked at the scorch marks, smirking as he kicked the spot where Chaosdramon had once stood.

Magnamon picked himself up from the ground, looking at the dusty scorch marks. He had wanted to ask Chaosdramon some questions, but he had been far too dangerous to keep alive. He was powerful, even if he had suffered a quick death both Magnamon and Beelzemon had to use draining attacks in order to bring him down.

_"...the Promised Day will change the world."_

Magnamon frowned, "What do you think he meant by the 'Promised Day'?" he asked Beelzemon.

"No idea," Beelzemon shrugged and looked to the collapsed building. "But I have ah feelin' Strikedramon might."

...

Serena had visited each of her friends that day, asking if any of them had seen an suspicious figures, anything out of the ordinary, or anything that had just piped their curiosity. Nothing had happened to any of them that fell underneath those categories; in fact, they found it rather odd Serena was asking them such a question.

As darkness came over the town and the clean-up crew returned home, Serena pulled out her mobile phone and dialled her mother. She had checked on her father, who was surprised by her sudden concern, each of her human friends were fine and she trusted Beelzemon and the others to be safe where they were. She had left to check on her mother last, she kept putting it off, she knew she was, but inevitably she would have to face her.

She dialled the number, her heart thumping loudly in her ears. The street lights flickered on, the phone continued to ring, Serena began to panic. Finally the ringing stopped and the phone was answered, by Yuri.

"Hello?" she greeted politely. "Who is this?"

"It's me, Yuri," Serena answered. "It's Serena."

"Serena? Oh, oh! I need to get Mom!" Yuri said excitedly.

"No, Yuri, wait," Serena said. "I need to ask you something."

"Oh, alright, what is it?" Yuri asked.

"Have you... seen anything weird lately?" Serena asked. "Like strangers hovering around or anything like that."

"No," Yuri replied. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Serena replied. "I'm just checking up on everyone, that's all."

"... Mom misses you," Yuri said. "She blames herself that you left."

"She really shouldn't," Serena sighed. "I made the decision. I... I'm not like you; I have to stay away from you in order to keep you all safe."

"... Could you at least come see her soon?" Yuri asked. "Please? Only once, that's it, please?"

Serena pinched the corner of her eyes, sighing again once more. She didn't see the harm in just _one_ visit, she owed her mother that much at least.

"Alright," she removed her fingers from her eyes. "I'll come see you soon."

"Okay," Yuri said happily.

"Bye," Serena smiled slightly.

"Byeee!" Yuri giggled.

Serena hung up and smiled, leaning against one of the tall street lights. She had never liked Yuri or Yuki when she was younger, when she was still human, but now she wondered what would have happened if she stayed in the Human World. Would she have learnt to like - even love - her step-siblings?

Her phone buzzed loudly, a phone call coming in. She wondered if it was Yamaki, asking where it was she had wondered off too. She looked at the name on screen, UNRECOGNIZED CALLER. She bit her bottom lip, worried that on the other end of the phone was Darknessmon. She took a deep breath and answered.

"Hello?" she greeted calmly.

"Good evening, Serena," Darknessmon purred. "I suspect you had no luck today."

"You didn't attack my heart," Serena said. "You lied."

"Did I?" Darknessmon chuckled. "Well, I believe I succeeded. Chaosdramon wounded Dorumon and Strikedramon, Beelzemon and Magnamon are now low on energy and won't be using any powerful attacks for some time. And I have your heart."

"No you don't!" Serena snapped. "My family is safe, my friends are safe, Beelzemon is safe!"

"Did I ever say it was your family I was after?" Darknessmon asked. "Did I say I was after your friends or even Beelzemon?"

Serena didn't answer.

"No, I didn't say I was after them," Darknessmon continued. "I said I was after your heart; want to know a fun fact? Digimon don't have hearts and soon neither will you, whenever you change you loose what makes you human. I was just sure that process happens quicker."

"Who are you after?" Serena growled. "Who are you after?"

He laughed, "The question isn't 'who am I after', rather its 'who have I captured'," he answered.

"What?" she gasped. "You... you already have him?"

"Oh, yes," he chuckled. "There's only one person you didn't check on today, do you know who that is?"

Serena went through the list of people she had visited and phoned that day, and with slow sickening realization it struck her.

"Tom."

...

_The Digital World_

"That's it," Darknessmon said, "you got there eventually."

He sat on the steps of his throne, Tom's head in his lap, running his sharp talon down the human boy's face, leaving faint blooded marks across his smooth face. Gatomon stood not far away, regarding the whole situation with a bored expression as she watched the face of her ex-human partner.

"I suppose if you had remained in the Human World then maybe you and Tom may have had something," Darknessmon continued. "He had always a crush on you, when you left he was just heart broken."

Darknessmon glanced to Gatomon, his mind flickering to the life and death of a different Digimon, but remembering them both so clearly. He looked back down to the unconscious human's face, playing with some of his blonde spikes.

"Do you understand now?" he said. "Tom is your human heart, in another life time you and he would have been lovers. Now that I've taken him away you can be what you were destined to be."

"Give him back, you bastard!" she cried. "Give him back!"

"Aw, don't cry," he said, generally upset to hear her cry. "You'll see him soon, I promise, just give me two days."

He hung up and threw the phone aside, he leaned back and removed his hand from Tom's lock of hair, looking up to Gatomon and smiled.

"Is everything prepared?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord," she bowed. "Your army awaits your orders, they need only the signal."

"And the Royal Knights and Demon Lords?" he inquired.

"They will be kept busy, as you requested," she answered.

"Excellent," he grinned. "Oh, and I'm so sorry you had to stay with that human boy for so long. I had hoped Yumiko wouldn't take so long in finding Serena and preparing the Dragons, but it seems I was wrong."

"It was nothing, my lord," she assured. "I knew that at the end it would be worth it."

"Yes," he looked up, imagining he could see the blue skies of the Human World. "The Promised Day is at hand, in three days we will wage war and finally there will be order in the chaotic worlds."

_To Be Continued..._


	16. Prelude to War

**Episode 16 **

**Prelude to War**

_The Human World_

"You'll see him soon, I promise, just give me two days."

Serena squeezed Beelzemon's hand hard, his bones creaking under the pressure of her grip, but he didn't grimace or show any signs that he was hurting. She needed him, needed his touch to comfort her, he was going to stay at her side for as long as he was needed. Even if she did have a strong grip on her.

He stood at her side as she told them all what happened, her grip would tighten every few seconds and he knew she was doing it in order to stop herself from crying. She was trying to be strong in front of them, but her eyes gave away the pain she felt in her heart.

After she finished speaking she sat down on the floor, and just stared down, ashamed of being unable to protect one of her friends. Beelzemon sat with her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. He knew Serena well enough to know that when she was ready to talk she would, until then she would keep it all bottled up. All Beelzemon could do was wait until then.

Magnamon and Beelzemon had pulled Strikedramon from the building's rubble to find she was more seriously injured than what they suspected, she had been close contact of Chaosdramon's blasts, and those blasts in themselves were enough to shatter a rib or two. Covered in bruises, gashes and out of the duty for the time being, she had been forced to remain on the living's couch until she was recovered.

She joked afterwards that if she was human her injuries would have killed her, Dorumon made a similar joke but with less humour. Yamaki had set up a small arrangement of pillows and blankets for the injured Dorumon, between slipping in and out of conscious would join in on the conversation, but she offered little.

"Why would he take Tom?" Magnamon said. "I just don't understand. Tom was no longer our ally, he betrayed us by not coming to our aid against Darkdramon."

"But it's like what Darknessmon said," Yamaki answered. "If Serena had stayed human then she and Tom may have been together, he is every bit the essence of a human heart. Darknessmon wants Serena to be a Digimon, and Digimon don't have hearts."

Strikedramon placed a hand over her chest, trying to seek a beat. She knew she didn't possess a heart, but she - like many Digimon - craved a heart. She wasn't sure why she wanted such a thing, it wasn't necessary to a Digimon's survival, but she wanted probably for the same reason humans had them - in order to feel.

Hearts were these strange things that ran for one simple reason, to pump blood through the body, but from a supernatural stand point a heart was the thing that allowed a being to feel love, compassion and all other things. The heart was what allowed someone to be good or corrupted, and Strikedramon wanted a heart if only to help her know she felt such things.

"Doesn't it seem unfair teh have Seren search for 'er 'heart' when Tom was miles away from 'er?" Beelzemon asked.

"Darknessmon knew Serena would probably never guess that it was Tom, having her search was just to allow him the time needed to capture him," Yamaki answered.

"He said that Tom will be returned in two days," Magnamon said. "But can we trust what he says?"

"Probably not," Beelzemon replied. "But what can we do but wait?"

Magnamon folded his arms over his chest, thinking of what Chaosdramon had said hours earlier. What exactly did Chaosdramon mean by the _'Promised Day'_? Was that the day Darknessmon planned on taking over the Digital World?

"All who defy Darknessmon will fall in the wake of the Promised Day."

"Strikedramon," Magnamon turned to her. "Yesterday Chaosdramon mentioned something called the 'Promised Day'; do you know what that is?"

She looked at him in surprise, "I thought I was the only one who had been told of the Promised Day."

She sighed wearily and forced herself up, she took a moment to let the pain settle before continuing. "The Promised Day is..." she took a deep breath. "I should have told you about it the moment I allied myself with you, but I didn't think it would be a problem."

"What is it?" Serena asked.

They all turned to her, not expecting her to speak. She looked up at them, her eyes seeming to change colour, turning from the startling pink into a powerful golden glow.

"What is the Promised Day?" she demanded.

"The Promised Day is when Darknessmon brings his army to the Human World and lays siege," she answered. "His army will ravage both worlds and if he succeeds he will unite the worlds, becoming the infinite leader over the united universe."

They gasped, _army_? When did Darknessmon have the time to assemble an army big enough to take over both of the worlds? It seemed impossible, to have that many Digimon in his army he would need the whole Digital World backing his plans, there was no way he could have an army that large.

"I knew he was planning on taking over the worlds but..." Yamaki shook his head. "An army? He has a god damn army?"

"How did he get that many Digimon?" Magnamon demanded. "The Earth has almost seven billion humans and the Digital World has nearly ten billion! Darknessmon would need over seven billion Digimon backing his plans and I seriously doubt he does."

"I never said his army consisted of just Digimon," Strikedramon said.

"You mean he has humans helping him too?" Serena asked.

She nodded. "He has a collected together an army of like-minded ultimate to mega level Digimon to attack the Digital World, that way the Royal Knights and Demon Lords will be too distracted to come to your aid," she explained. "The remaining Digimon in his army, the rookies to champion levels, will come to the Human World and battle the humans with Darknessmon's human followers."

"Why teh hell would humans follow 'im?" Beelzemon frowned. "If 'e wins both worlds will be destroyed."

"Darknessmon is completely confident that the uniting of the two worlds will have no effect other than a larger kingdom," Strikedramon answered. "As for the humans, well, their poor deluded fools who see Darknessmon as a god who is going to unite the worlds and create an Eden."

They allowed Strikedramon's words to sink in. None of them had ever imagined how big this was, they had always known that the fate of the world rested solely on their shoulders, and they were able to cope with that pressure because it was just Darknessmon and his Dragons.

But now, learning that Darknessmon had an army, the pressure had suddenly solidified into something much worse. They could have handled Darknessmon and his Dragons, but how were they supposed to cope with his army? How were the humans going to cope with having to deal with their own kind?

The humans would have to deal with fighting against their own kind, while the Royal Knights and Demon Lords would have to deal with battling an army of Digimon determined to overthrow them. It was going to be an all out war, unless they stopped Darknessmon.

Serena pulled herself from Beelzemon's arms and got to her feet, her clenched fists shaking uncontrollably with rage. Beelzemon raised a hand to comfort her, but the venomous glare in her eye warned the Demon Lord to be careful.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" she hissed. "He's going to ignite a war that will have no winners! Everyone is going to die..."

"Unless we stop him," Magnamon insisted. "We WILL stop Darknessmon; no one is going to die."

"Who are we kidding?" she cried. "You couldn't stop Goldramon in time to save that old man! How the humans supposed to stop their own kind without killing them? There are going to be deaths on both sides, no one is going to win!"

Her anger began to give away to sorrow, bitter tears spilling from her eyes. She had been mad to Darknessmon's sheer stupidity, it was like he was trying to be the cause of as many deaths as possible, but as Serena thought about how many human and Digimon were going to loose their lives she couldn't help but cry.

If the Royal Knights fought her friends lives were on the life, the friends she left behind - Crusadermon, Duftmon, BlackDuftmon, Lilithmon - they were going to risk their lives for a world that was not their own. They battled against Darknessmon's army to protect both worlds, and Serena couldn't be there at their side when the battle came.

The war was going to tear apart every family, break every connection, and sever every tie. Her mother, her father, her friends, each of them was going to be a victim of war and she couldn't be there for them. She couldn't even save Tom from Darknessmon's clutches, how was she going to save her world?

Beelzemon got to his feet and hugged her close, smoothing her hair gently. "Seren..." he soothingly. I know tis is goin' teh be hard, people are goin' teh die - but that's just how teh world works I'm afraid."

He walked in front of her, putting a hand under her chin and wiping her tears away with his thumb. "But ya know what we're gonna do?" he asked her quietly.

Serena sniffed and looked up at him, blinking through her veil of bitter tears. "W-what?" she asked.

"We're goin' teh save as many people as we can," he told her. "Ya goin' teh kick Darknessmon's ass an' we're gonna save as many humans as we can."

He smiled at her, a reassuring and soft smile not often seen on a Demon Lords face, and Serena couldn't help but smile at him. Beelzemon, whether knowing it or not, was right in what he said - Serena knew that there could not be a war without casualties; she would just have to accept it.

Even if hundreds died she would save thousands by defeating Darknessmon and finally putting an end to Yumiko's legacy. Beelzemon and the others could focus on saving lives, Serena's mission and goal was finish to what Yumiko started so many years ago when she planned her conquest.

"We'll stop them," she smiled. "We're going to stop them."

"That's the spirit," Magnamon cheered. "We'll save the worlds and then return to the place where we belong."

"It's going to be so strange," Serena said, "going back to the Digital World that is. It's been so long since I saw Crusadermon and Duftmon; it's going to take me awhile to adjust."

"Don't worry," Magnamon assured her. "You'll be fine; you adjusted to being Beelzemon's captive easily."

"There's ah reason for that," Beelzemon laughed, tickling Serena's sides.

Strikedramon watched the merriment with a smile, chuckling under her breath when she compared how the Resistance handled drama. If something went wrong within the Dragons it nearly always resulted in a fight until Darknessmon or Yumiko came along to break the fight up, with the Resistance they cried and laughed, and carried on with hope.

_Hope._

It was something not shared by the Dragons, they all wanted to be part of Darknessmon's organization in order to become powerful, rich and everything they've ever wanted to be. She joined mostly through Yumiko's manipulation of her, but also because it was a chance at a new life. If there was one Dragon who hoped for better - and didn't just crave it - then it was probably Strikedramon.

In the corner of her eye she spotted Yamaki silently leaving the room, she glanced to the trio, finding none of them had yet noticed his absence. She got to her feet, a little shaky and sore, but managed a few steps forwards and followed him into the spare room.

Much of the machine had been dismantled, but none of it had been recycled, instead she found it had been converted into something else, small weaponry such as blasters, small grenade-like objects and a few other things she was none too sure about.

"You look like you're ready to go to war," she commented.

"I am," he picked up a blaster, a large rounded barrel with a short grip and an armoured trigger guard. There was a small button above the trigger guard, as Yamaki pressed it the barrel began to glow and whine loudly. Yamaki aimed it at her; the air around the barrel began to ripple from the heat of the device.

"I'm tired of sitting around and doing nothing," he declared. "Serena gets into the fights, she's the one who comes home with the cuts, and she s the one who bleeds. I'm her _father_ and as her father it's my responsibility get into some of her fights."

Yamaki pressed the button once down and it powered down, he put it back with the rest of his weapons of mass destruction and gave Strikedramon's wounds a curious glance over.

"I don't think you'll be fit for battle," he told her. "Chaosdramon really did a number on you."

"As sweet as your concern is, it's not needed," she replied. "Chances are Darknessmon will attack after Tom has been returned, I'll be healed by then."

"You hope to be healed by then," Yamaki said. "You're wounds are deep, who knows when they'll heal."

"I'll be fine," she insisted.

"I just don't you to strain yourself," Yamaki sighed. "I can't loose any of you."

She put a hand on his shoulder, smiling comfortingly. "I'm going to be, I promise."

Yamaki's hand found hers, squeezing it tightly, he said nothing but smiled - and that was an answer it in itself.

...

_The Digital World_

"You won't get away with this!"

Darknessmon sighed loudly and kicked the human boy in the side of the head; Tom hit the ground hard, dragging his chains down with him. He gritted his blooded teeth, spitting a bloody dollop in Gatomon's way. Darknessmon lay back in his throne, a slim talon pressed to his cheek.

"How cliché," Darknessmon said disapprovingly. "Can't you say anything but B-movie quotes?"

Tom sat up, snarling loudly, Darknessmon smirked.

"There's a lot of fight in you," he commented. "It's the reason I picked you."

"Oh, so it has nothing to do with my traitor of a partner?" Tom hissed.

He glared at Gatomon, but she regarded him with a stern expression and expressed no emotion towards her once human companion. Darknessmon pulled Tom's Digivice from between a plate in his armour, squeezing it tightly in his hand.

"You have Gatomon as your partner was nothing but chance, my boy," he laughed. "She has been my ally since before the Dragons, back in the early days when it my ambition was just a foolish daydream."

He smiled nostalgically, starring upwards at the ceiling as he imagined a blue sky and two Gatomon's, twin sisters who had been at his side since before he was anything but a child with a dream. It seemed only funny that of the two sisters it was the white Gatomon who would become his most allied partner.

"How do you think you got this thing?" Darknessmon asked him, waving the Digivice. "You think the Sovereigns would actually allow a human to be a Tamer, and with such a low-tech device?"

Tom didn't answer.

"You have it because I allowed you to have it," Darknessmon revealed. "I gave you the device in order to give me a footing in your world, but when the device sought out your partner I was as shocked as you to discover it was to be Gatomon."

"Though if you think about it, it makes perfect sense," Gatomon added.

"How so?" Tom asked.

"Uh-uh," Darknessmon wagged a talon. "I won't reveal that just yet, Serena has to be here before I reveal all my secrets."

"So what do you want with me?" Tom asked.

Darknessmon stood, throwing the Digivice aside, "It's very simple," he began. "I need a knight; I need a way to battle Serena without showing her all my tricks."

"What makes you think I'd do anything to harm Serena?" Tom snapped.

Darknessmon grabbed him by his spiky locks, thrusting his hair back. "What makes you think you have a choice?" he growled.

Darknessmon raised an arm, his talons extending and humming with a dark energy. Tom squirmed, trying to pull away from the Digimon. Darknessmon rammed his arm into Tom's chest, his talons cutting through Tom's flesh and he felt Darknessmon's talons enclose around his heart.

Black magic began to course through Tom's body, spreading through his muscles and veins. Black veins appeared along his flesh, criss-crossing along his pale husk like an artist's brush. Tom gasped loudly in pain; his bones cracking like dried wood on fire, and slowly his eyes began to turn blood red with dark scleras.

Darknessmon grunted in pain, sweat rolling down the side of his face. "Gatomon," he gasped. "Leave - NOW! And don't return until two days time!"

"Yes, my lord," she obeyed.

She bowed briefly and left the grand chamber, she glanced back as the old doors groaned shut, catching one final look at the human boy as his insides were twisted and mutilated, his howls of pain tearing throughout the quiet icy mountains. The doors creaked shut and Gatomon left her master alone with the human boy, allowing him to work his dark magic.

_To Be Continued..._


	17. Darknessmon

**Episode 17 **

**Darknessmon**

_The Human World_

_Serena stared down at Tom's face, cold and smooth, like a doll. His life-less eyes, hollow and empty, starred up at her as if to say _'I forgive you'_. She barely felt the cold against her flesh or the tears in her eyes, all she felt was the knife in her hands and the warm blood between her fingers._

_She cried and sobbed, begging for him to come back, to come back and hear her say that she was sorry. If she could go back in time she would stop all of this, she would prevent this needless death, and she would tell him that she loved him - but not without knowing that he and she could never be._

_He was her heart, she knew that now, but she wasn't human and Digimon don't have hearts. There's no need for her to possess a heart, even if she so desired one. She dropped the knife, hearing it clatter down the heap of debris and land somewhere in the darkness below._

_"I'm so sorry," she cried. "P-please forgive me."_

_She covered her eyes, screaming in grief as her tears mingled with the blood on her hands. She couldn't believe that she had done it - she couldn't believe she had killed him. She slowly moved her hands away, leaning over Tom's body to stare at his emotionless face. She reached out with jittery fingers, preparing to close his eyes, when his hand shot out and snatched her wrist._

_He sat up, stiff like a corpse, and pulled a knife from his side. He grinned darkly, blood between his teeth, and rammed the blade into her chest..._

_...  
_

Serena screamed and jolted upright, feeling her heart thump in her chest. There were cold hands on her shoulders and she jumped in surprise, whirling around to face the Demon Lord in her bed. Beelzemon rubbed her shoulders - as he often did when she awoke from a nightmare - and soothed a lock of hair from her sweat-laced forehead.

He gave her a moment to calm down, pulling her close into a hug and wrapping the blankets around them. She took long deep breaths, calming and collecting her bearings. She had suffered bad dreams in the Digital World often, to him it was a natural thing and he was more than prepared to take care of her when it happened.

"What were ya dreamin' 'bout?" he asked.

Serena stared down at her hands, still able to feel the blood beneath her nails. She clenched her fists shut, roughly wiping away a few tears.

"I dreamt that I... I..." she burst into tears. "I dreamt that I _killed_ Tom."

"What?" he gasped. "Why?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" she slammed her fists against her head. "I don't know!"

"Hey, hey!" he pulled her hands from her head, resting them in her lap. "Just calm down okay, what do ya remember?"

"I remember..." she thought of the rain against her flesh, the blood on her hands. "It was raining and I was crying, holding a knife in my hand. I was sitting by Tom, he was bleeding somewhere, but I don't remember where. I could only see his eyes, not his body or anything else. But I know he was bleeding, I could feel his blood on my hands. And then he... he woke up and... and stabbed me."

Beelzemon frowned.

He thought about what she said very carefully for a moment or two, then wrapped his arms around her. Serena smiled, turning to bury her face into his chest. He had never been very good with words, but that was okay, because sometimes Serena didn't want a conversation.

Sometimes she just wanted to feel safe in someone's arms.

...

Serena didn't share her dream with anyone else, she had to try to figure it out for herself. Beelzemon wasn't sure what it meant, meaning it fell on her alone to shoulder its bloody burden. She spent those few days focusing on it, wondering what it meant, why she would even dream of hurting Tom.

Things between them had been rocky, but she would never kill him.

Finally two days passed in what must have been the most agonizing days of Serena's long life, she spend days pondering what had become of Tom, wondering what Darknessmon could have wanted with him and why she had suffered such a vivid dream at the worst of times. Was Darknessmon getting desperate? All of his Dragons were dead or had joined them, was he clutching straws until this _'Promised Day'_ came?

No, he had an entire army on hold, kidnapping Tom was just his way of keeping them on the edge, keeping them on guard, ready to surprise them.

That morning they waited patiently for a phone call, _the_ phone call. A few hours passed, the hands of the clock inching forwards, crawling onwards. Soon it was almost noon and it seemed the call would never come, but then at twelve o'clock the phone ran.

Serena pounced, snatching it off the receiver. "Yes?" she asked, remembering her manners at the worst of times.

"Something wrong, dear, you sound impatient?" Darknessmon purred.

He sounded different, she wasn't sure how, but there was something about his voice that sounded different. Like it was harder, younger, angrier. She looked up at the full room, the eyes of the entire Resistance - including the injured Dorumon and Strikedramon - were on her, expectedly.

"I'm fine," Serena answered. "Now where's Tom?"

"He's fine," Darknessmon answered.

"Put him on the phone," Serena ordered. "I need to know he's alright."

"Fine," Darknessmon obliged. "You get sixty seconds."

There was some rustling as the phone was handed over and Tom spoke with a strange tameness she had heard from him in some time.

"Serena?" he asked.

"Yeah, Tom, it's me," she cried in relief. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine, Seren," he answered. "Well... as fine as I can be as someone's prisoner."

Serena smirked.

Darknessmon said, "Time's up," and took the phone from Tom.

"That wasn't even a minute!" she snapped.

"You heard him, you know he's alive," Darknessmon answered. "Now to get to business - I want you to meet me at the place this whole thing started."

"The woods?" Serena said.

"No, not quite," Darknessmon replied. "To be more specific, I need you to go to the place you met Beelzemon."

Serena thought back to that day, she and the others had gone to the bench overlooking the woods to play a game, the Digimon Card game. That was where it all started, where Beelzemon's shadow had fallen over her and she had entered his world. It was the focal point, the centre of the whole thing.

"Be there in fifteen minutes," Darknessmon ordered. "Tom will be waiting."

Serena put the phone onto the receiver, not allowing Darknessmon to sneak in a sly comment.

"Well?" Yamaki said.

"I have to go to the place I first met Beelzemon," Serena answered. "Tom sounds alright, but I'm not sure if that was because Darknessmon was in the room with him."

"Alright then, let's go," Beelzemon said.

"No," she said. "I have to do this alone."

"Seren, it's probably a trap," Beelzemon argued. "And right now ya can't change form, how are ya supposed teh defend yerself?"

"I could try to change now," Serena argued. "Maybe when I'm in battle I'll have a better chance of changing."

"I'm not goin' teh risk it," he said sternly.

"We're going to have to go with you," Yamaki intervened. "We don't know what Darknessmon is planning and now with this threat of the Promised Day we're going to have to stick close."

"What about Strikedramon and Dorumon?" Serena asked. "I'll let you and Bee come, but they have to stay here."

"No arguments from us," Dorumon chuckled. "Go, get Tom. We'll be waiting here."

...

Serena arrived at the bench five minutes early and she found, to her surprise, that even the bench had been tampered by time. Just like the tree house and her friends, the bench carried the scars and reminders that life had carried on without her. Names, swears and all sorts had been carved into the bench.

She ran her fingers over its splintered surface, feeling each little groove and scar. Her fingers settled on something in the centre of the bench, a message carved into the wood, a message left for her. It took her a moment to realize that it was addressed to her, and even longer to pluck up the courage to read it.

It was simple enough, _We Miss You Serena_, and signed by each of her friends. But the simple message had her near tears, time had moved on without her, but she hadn't been forgotten by her friends or families. She had always hoped that they had managed to move on, though she feared being forgotten. At least she knew now that her absence was felt and worked through, but not forgotten.

She glanced down to the woods below, where Beelzemon and Yamaki lay in wait. Even with her eyes she struggled to make out their shapes in the undergrowth, but she felt their presence, they were near. She sat down on the bench, twining her fingers together, and waited.

The minutes went by, her impatience began to show. She began to tap her foot quickly, her agitation showing. _Where was he?_ Shouldn't he have arrived by now? Surely five minutes had passed, so where was he? Serena bit down on her lip, trying not to think the worst.

Tom was coming, he was going to be fine, she had to stop assuming the worst.

Suddenly, there was a presence behind her, a cooling one that made goose bumps rise along her arms. She jumped to her feet, whirling to face the person, fists ready. A surprised figure in a scarlet cloak stood behind her, hand reaching towards her. The pale figure smiled a familiar smile, her heart skipped a beat.

"Tom?" she said.

He pulled down the hood, his smile grew. "Geez, Seren, you scared the crap outta me!" he gasped. "I thought you were going to hit me."

"I was," Serena laughed. "Good thing for you I recognized you before I did."

She looked him over carefully, her smile fading. He seemed different. It wasn't obvious at first, but looking at him carefully, looking at his face and smile, she noticed something different. His skin was paler, his nails and teeth were more defined, sharper even, and his eyes - she wasn't sure what was wrong with them, but they seemed different.

Tom seemed to notice her sudden change of mood, "Something wrong?" he asked.

"I..." she sighed. "I don't know... it's just that you... you seem different."

"How so?" he inquired.

"Your eyes and your nails and your skin," she replied. "What did Darknessmon do to you?"

Tom's face went blank for a moment, as if realizing something, and then a huge smile split across his face. "My, Grandma, what big teeth you have," he recited with a mad giggle.

"Tom...?" Serena backed off a step. "What happened to you?"

"My, my," he repeated. "You catch on a lot quicker than I expected - you noticed the change just from my skin colour?"

"What are you talking about?" Serena demanded. "What's going on?"

Tom threw the cloak to the ground and Serena saw the gleaming armour he wore beneath, thick and heavy, with sharp curves. A dark dried blood red, with a heavy large sword at the side with a huge handle and thick blade. Tom spun the cloak around, attaching it to the shoulder guards to form a cape and pulled a pair of armoured gloves from his side.

"What happened to you?" she gasped.

He slipped the gloves on, the sharp talon tips gleaming like dark sapphires. "I suppose I should tell you," he said. "It's unfair to keep you in the dark."

Tom took a deep breath and put on hand on the sword's hilt, "The first thing you need to know is that I am not Tom," he continued. "Well, I am him, but at the same time not him."

"You're not making any sense," Serena growled.

"I am Darknessmon," he said in an introductory manner. "I transferred my essence into Tom's body."

Her heart thumped loudly in her ears, as she realized the worst had happened.

"I possess a unique move known as Marionette, where I transfer my soul into another body," Darknessmon explained. "My original body is now a husk in the Digital World while I control this form, but the process takes a few days, which was why I requested you wait some time."

Darknessmon looked behind Serena to the woods, his eyes making out a few shapes in the dark. He furrowed his brow, he had known Serena wouldn't come alone, but he had never expected them to be so close. It was going to make things difficult, any moment now Beelzemon and Yamaki would come to interrupt his plans.

"Tom is what I consider an excellent shield," Darknessmon quickly continued. "You can't stop me without killing him, so why not settle for a trade?"

Serena flashed to the dream, remembering the feel of the blood and rains on her hands. Now she knew it was more than just a nightmare, it was a premonition. An omen. It was the end of her and Tom's relationship, deep down she knew that there was no way to escape the day without a death, and she couldn't bear it be his.

"You hand yourself over and I give Tom back," Darknessmon offered. "That way we can avoid a death today."

Serena scrunched her eyes shut, fighting the tears. She wanted to help Tom, to save him from being Darknessmon's puppet, but there was no way she could trade her life for his. It wasn't being selfish, it was being practical. She was going to defeat Darknessmon, but how could she if she allowed herself to be his slave?

She clenched her fists tightly, "No," she protested.

"What?" he said. "Speak up, my dear."

"I said _no!_" she defied.

She opened her eyes and a hot blast of golden energy knocked Darknessmon down, golden magic curled around her in waves and slowly began to consume her, scolding the ground beneath her feet. Darknessmon hissed at the feel of the hot air, he tried to stand, but the hot air pushed him back down.

Slowly, he began to smile. "Well done, my love," he purred. "Your final change is at hand."

...

"We should go help her!" Yamaki growled. "That man in the armour is not Tom!"

"Give 'er ah moment," Beelzemon ordered. "Seren can handle herself."

Beelzemon glared at the strange figure in armour as the shadows of the leaves fallen over Beelzemon's face in cool patches. The armoured one emitted the same aura as Serena, something not quite of either of the worlds. But there was something different about his aura, something dark and twisted.

"Who is that, anyway?" Yamaki asked.

"I think..." Beelzemon's frown deepened. "I think its Tom."

"What?" Yamaki gasped. "How can that be -"

A flash of bright gold interrupted him, they covered their eyes in surprise as the blinding light consumed the air. Beelzemon squinted past the golden flare, making out a faint figure in the core of the blast. He gasped in surprised as recognition sunk in.

"Serena!"

...

The light began to fade away, the air continued to crackle with an otherworldly source, and Darknessmon's smile turned into a sneer. He jumped to his feet, crying out_ 'No!'_ repeatedly. It had gone wrong, Serena wasn't supposed to become the opposite of what he hoped for.

Serena wasn't supposed to become an Angel.

As the dust settled and the glow faded, Darknessmon saw Serena for what she was, the Digimon she was meant to be. The Digimon Fanglongmon wanted her to be. Golden armour gleamed in the sunlight, the tip of a staff visible in one hand and a sword in the other, with wings tainted with shades of slightly burnt auburn and blinding white. Her hair run past her face and had become a shimmering white, like her faint eyelashes, and her eyes, deep red like a Sovereign.

Serena had become a Darcmon, she had become the Goddess of the Battlefield. But it was all wrong, she wasn't supposed to be influenced by the Sovereigns. She was supposed to become like him, she was supposed to be the queen of darkness. How had she become a Darcmon?

Serena took a moment to look herself over, even she was surprised by her new form. She had expected something similar to an Angel, but she never thought she would become such a low-level warrior. Still, it was better than nothing, and she always had a knack for working with what she got.

"Now," she said. "I'm giving you one last chance - give Tom back!"

"You'll have to kill me first," Darknessmon growled.

"I'll rid Tom of your poison before I ever kill him!" she snapped.

"We'll see," he snarled.

He pulled his sword free of its sheath and she saw just how large it was, it was thicker than Darknessmon's body and seemed far to heavy for him to wield. Yet Tom's human body seemed very capable of carrying it, had Darknessmon's strength - as well as appearance - been transferred over to him?

"This is going to hurt me more than its going to hurt you," Darknessmon complained.

Serena charged and swung her sword, Darknessmon jumped back in surprise and Serena's blade sliced the bench in two. She swore in frustration and placed her staff into its straps, she pulled out her second blade from behind her back and wielded them both as an old warrior would.

Darknessmon swung at her, she fell back onto her hands and delivered a sharp kick to his jaw. His head snapped back and he staggered, Serena fell low onto her ankles and swung wide with her leg, catching his ankles. Darknessmon fell backwards, falling to the ground with a loud thud.

"Your armour is rather difficult to move in, isn't it?" she smirked.

"And I suppose a lion cloth and a breast plate is enough protection?" he returned.

He jumped to his feet and fired a red energy blast, Serena dived aside. The ground exploded, throwing dust and dirt up into the air. Serena flapped her wings, clearing the air. Darknessmon appeared from out of the smog, swinging his sword down. She raised both of her swords, blocking the attack, but was forced to her knees.

"Not so easy, is it?" he laughed. "Your a champion level, my dear, and though I'm in a human shell I'm still a mega level!"

He swung down again, the blunt of the blow sent shockwaves through her and the ground shattered underfoot, but Serena kept her ground. Her muscles screamed out in protest, too much pressure too soon, she was still getting used to this new form and she had no idea what limitations it had.

Maybe Fanglongmon had made a mistake in giving her a new body, maybe she was better off as LadyNeoDevimon.

"How do you hope on driving me out when you have only one attack?" Darknessmon asked. "You only have the _Baptême d'Amour_, not exactly something I'd use in an exorcism."

"My body may be that of a Darcmon," Serena grunted. "But I've still got the powers I absorbed previously! Besides, why would Fanglongmon give me a body of no use?"

Serena released one of her swords and grabbed his face with her hand, a bright white glow appeared in her palm and a hot blast of energy sent Darknessmon flying down to the woods below. He crashed against a tree, it cracked in two against the force and fell to the ground with an echoing crack. Darknessmon fell to his feet, hissing at a pain in his side.

"I underestimated her," Darknessmon chuckled. "Good."

Serena walked down the hill towards the woods, coming across her father and Beelzemon coming towards her from the fringe of green. Beelzemon wrapped his arms around Serena, squeezing her tightly as he sighed in relief. Serena looked at him in surprise, but smiled as she felt her fears fade away.

_He still loves me,_ she thought. _Why did I ever think my new form would scare him away?_

Beelzemon pulled away and lifted the golden plate from away the top half of her face. He smiled, glad to see that Serena's face hadn't changed. She was still the same, maybe a little different, but still the same girl he had loved for so long.

"Where'd that man go?" Yamaki asked, interrupting the moment.

"Man?" Serena repeated. "You mean Darknessmon?"

"Darknessmon?" Beelzemon gasped. "That was 'im?"

"He took over Tom's body using some kind of move called Marionette," Serena explained. "I need to try to sever the bond, but I'm not sure if I can do that here."

"Where's Darknessmon's original body?" Yamaki asked.

"In the Digital World," Serena answered.

"Then we need another plan," Yamaki said. "How do we exorcise that filth from Tom?"

"You don't."

The air crackled and exploded, throwing them all back as they crashed and skidded across the ground. Serena jumped to her feet, collecting her swords from the ground. A gaping hole appeared in the ground, the earth still warm from its blast. Serena spotted her father, he had dived out of the way in time, but where had Beelzemon wondered off too?

There was a loud whistle, Serena swivelled her head around and found Beelzemon, in the claws of Darknessmon. He clutched Beelzemon by the throat, hosting him off the ground. Serena gasped and darted forwards, Darknessmon raised his hand and she skidded on her heels as she stopped.

"Now, let's settle this," Darknessmon said. "Kill me, Serena, or I kill Beelzemon."

"What?" she gasped.

"It's simple," he said. "I'm offering you a very easy choice. Kill me and Beelzemon lives."

"I... I can't," she protested. "If I kill you, Tom dies."

"It's a sacrifice he's willing to make," Darknessmon replied. "Did you known I can hear his voice in my head? Shouting all sort of profanities, where does he learn all these words?"

"If I kill him you'll just return to your original body," Serena noted. "It would be a pointless sacrifice."

"Not really," Darknessmon squeezed Beelzemon's neck. "I'd go home, the Promised Day will be delayed and Beelzemon lives."

"I... I can't," Serena cried.

"_Ngh_..." Beelzemon grunted and grabbed Darknessmon's hand. "Ya won't have teh, Seren. I can't let ya have innocent blood on yer hands."

"Beelzemon? No!" Serena protested. "Don't!"

Beelzemon tore the gun from its holster, Darknessmon cried out in protest and reached out for the gun. Beelzemon fired at him. His gasp was strangled, blood began to pour out of the wound, and he fell. Darknessmon crumpled to the ground, a small pool of red gathering around his head.

Beelzemon gasped and took deep breaths, he staggered towards Serena. She pushed past him and ran to the body, falling to her knees she grabbed the boy's blonde hair and as she turned him over she saw Tom. Not Darknessmon, not her enemy, but Tom.

Beelzemon had shot him in the face, through the forehead. Serena had heard of gun victim surviving from such a wound, but the hospital was an hour away, the bullet was from a Digimon, and Tom was dead. There was no way to save him. Serena had failed.

She stroked his cheek, feeling the moist blood against her fingers. It was like the dream, the small differences didn't matter. She had killed him, maybe not by her own hand, but if she had been stronger, if she had been faster than she may have been able to save him.

"Seren..." Beelzemon hesitantly approached her. "I'm sorry... but it had teh be me. I couldn't let ya have that kind of guilt in yer heart."

"I failed him... isn't that guilt worst?" she cried.

"No," he said. "If yer killed 'im yer'd have teh live that, yer'd have teh live with teh fact he died by yer hands an' that it was yer who failed 'im. At least 'tis way I can help ya burden that guilt."

He fell to his knees beside her and pulled her into his arms, she dropped her blades, her body going stiff against his, and she buried her face into his shoulder and cried. The tears came fast, hot blades against her face, and she screamed out her guilt at the loss of her heart.

_...  
_

_The Digital World_

The husk on the floor gasped loudly and its back arched, its hand cracked, its leg writhed, it breathed in life and Darknessmon awoke. Gatomon had been guarding his body since he had left, when the thing on the floor began to breathe she was more than surprised at how quickly her lord had returned.

He coughed loudly, banging his chest to help breathe better. Gatomon offered her assistance, he swiped her aside as he stood. She grimaced at the swipe to her cheek, she saw the tight sneer on his lips and knew something had happened. The plan had failed.

"My Lord," she said. "What happened?"

"It's all wrong!" he screamed. "Wrong, wrong, _WRONG!_ Serena was supposed to do it, she was supposed to kill him! No, no, _NO!_"

He pulled his sword from its sheath and swung, Gatomon ducked and fell to the ground. He cut his throne in two and with a loud, groaning cry of protest, it came apart and fell to the ground. Darknessmon breathed loudly, his anger now showing.

"Send out the troops!" he commanded.

"But, My Lord!" she protested. "They aren't ready, we need to give them warning!"

"I said send out the troops!" he roared. "I want the Human World and its filthy race obliterate! I want every last man, woman and child dead! Now send out the troops!"

Gatomon whimpered, she nodded obediently and turned tail and ran out of the chamber. Darknessmon roared, like some kind of demonic force, and the castle trembled at the feel of his rage. He had finally declared war, the Promised Day was at hand. The worlds were never going to be the same again.

_To Be Continued..._


	18. The Promised Day

**Episode 18 **

**The Promised Day**

Serena starred down at the body on the floor, covered in a white sheet and placed on the shiny floor of the school's gymnasium. With the town still in disarray and the hospital full, the gym had become a station for the injured and poorly. It was barely full, with only a few still left to be transferred.

Serena had brought the body to the gym in hope that someone would come to claim it, but Tom's parents were out of town, they had left to meet up with his aunt in the country side. They had no idea what had happened. Serena had no choice but to call her friends to come collect the body.

She hadn't changed out of her Darcmon form. Beelzemon hadn't left her side, despite the strange spike in energy they had both felt at the time of Darknessmon's departure, he had decided to stay by her side. But he wasn't sure if it was out of guilt.

He had killed one of her friends; it was still hard to upside to the whole thing. They had stopped Darknessmon by killing the human sacrifice, but for how long? How long before Darknessmon tore his way into the Human World? Was Tom's death as meaningless as Darknessmon's grudge?

"Seren..." he spoke up. "Do... do ya hate me?"

"Not now, Bee," Serena said.

"Please, Seren," he said. "I need to know-"

"Not now!" she snapped.

She settled her gaze onto the blooded sheet, her breath caught in her throat like ice. Beelzemon wrapped his arms around her; she stiffened, but lowered her guard and buried her face into his chest and cried. He soothed back her hair, wishing he still had his wings in order to hug her better.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "I shouldn't have snapped at you, but..."

"It's alright," he kissed her head. "I don't blame ya, an' if ya do hate me-"

"I don't," she said. "I promise you, I don't! I just... I just wish I could have saved him."

Shazz and Max entered the gym, followed by a grim-faced Pen. Serena wiped her eyes, pulling her mask back over her eyes. Shazz slowly approached the Digimon and hybrid, clutching Max's hand. She saw the covered body and tears sprung to her eyes, she turned away. It was Pen who asked the question.

"Is that... Tom?" he asked.

Serena nodded.

"How... how did this happen?" Max cried. "He was with his aunt; he was in the country side."

"He came for Serena, probably," Pen snarled. "That damn girl, ever since she came back everything s gone to hell."

"Don't say that," Shazz snapped. "It's not Serena's fault!"

"Really?" Pen asked. "Then why isn't she here?"

Beelzemon bared his teeth.

Serena glanced to her Digimon lover, noting his clenched jaw. She rubbed her hand soothingly across it; he softened slightly, but gave her an odd look. She had to confess to her friends, tell them what she was. He knew she had been trying to distance what she was with what she used to be, but sometimes a united front was better.

"Um... may I interject?" she inquired.

Pen glared at her, "What do you want?"

Serena pulled off the gold mask that covered her eyes, tears flooding down her eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him..." she sobbed.

There was a moment of stunned silence, where the brain tries to understand what the eyes see, and jaws dropped. Shazz stumbled towards her, looking at her carefully, the bewildered expression clear as she tried to connect the dots. She looked to Beelzemon, a light-bulb flashing in her head.

"Then... he's the same one who..." she gasped. You re a Digimon?"

"I have a lot to explain," Serena admitted. "But very little time to do so."

"What's the rush?" Pen demanded.

"Those Digimon who've been attacking our town?" Serena said. "They work for someone called Darknessmon and he's bringing an army here."

"What the hell could he want here?" Max asked.

Beelzemon quickly glanced to Serena; she bit down on her bottom lip. How could she explain that the reason Tom had died, the town was destroyed and their lives were plagued by monsters was because of her, because a Digimon had an unhealthy obsession with her.

"'e wants to take control of teh Human World," Beelzemon answered. "An' teh best way is through ah dimensional rift in tis town."

"We have to get the people to safety," Pen said.

"Already underway," Serena replied. "We have a friend speaking with town officials right now; hopefully we can move the town to the underground bunkers while we take care of things up top."

The town officials had been worried of facing a nuclear holocaust in the future; to protect the town they built underground bunkers. What had first been a ridiculed move was now the thing that was going to save the lives of the town s people, Serena just hoped they managed to move everyone in time.

A man entered the gym, carrying a megaphone and a clipboard. "The town has been declared a danger zone," he called out. "All towns people are to be moved underground to the bunkers, please move in an orderly fashion and take emergency supplies."

"Yamaki moves quicker than I thought," Beelzemon smirked. "Alright, ya all better go too."

"But what about Tom..." Shazz trailed off into silence.

"We'll have to leave him," Max answered.

"But..." Pen began to protest, but stopped, when he realized it was pointless to argue. "Alright..."

Serena watched the humans file out of the room, grabbing small children, equipment and supplies. The man with the clipboard simply nodded in their direction before rushing out of the room. Beelzemon moved away from Serena slowly, focusing on the sudden discharge he felt in the air.

"That energy spike is growing," he commented. "I think somethin's goin' happen."

"We better get ready," she said. "As soon as Darknessmon crosses over, we're going to gut him."

...

_The Digital World_

Lilithmon frowned at the red tinted horizon, something inside of her deeply unsettled. The sky had always strange anomalies, tones of colours not natural, but normal for the Digital World. But this red, that blotchy scarlet, that just wasn't natural. It was an omen.

"Duftmon," she called to the Digimon on her bed. "Get up... Duftmon!"

He jerked as he woke, "Wh-what?" he yawned.

"Something's... wrong," she answered uncertainly.

"Is Lucemon home?" Duftmon asked.

"No, not that," she rolled her eyes. "Something... worse."

"Worse?" Duftmon repeated.

He got up from the bed, moving over to the window to wrap his arms around her. "What could be worse than Lucemon finding out about us?" he said.

There was a sudden noise at the door, a loud banging of fists against wood. Duftmon knew the procedure, he ran from the window and into Lilithmon's closet, while she went towards the door and opened it. Daemon burst, gasping loudly as he tried to catch his breath.

"What's happened?" Lilithmon asked. "What's wrong?"

"A Digimon attacked Lucemon!" Daemon gasped. "Someone called Darknessmon attacked him, and then laid siege to the Royal Knights Assembly Hall."

"What?" she gasped.

"There's more," Daemon said. "This Darknessmon, he has an army, and right now their wreaking havoc on our plains."

"You mean..." she couldn't finish the sentence, too horrified as she realized how defenceless they were. Where is Darknessmon now? Where did he go?"

"Not sure," Daemon answered. "But there's talk that he went to the Human World... so, what now? Without Lucemon, you're in charge."

Lilithmon growled, "That bastard thinks he can take our world from us?" she demanded. "He can think again! Gather our forces and we shall stamp out this threat!"

"Yes!" Daemon obeyed.

He quickly scampered out of the room; Lilithmon slammed the door shut and opened the wardrobe wide. Duftmon jumped out, rushing over to the window, his usual escape. He briefly embraced her, the arms around her so tight, as if he was afraid to let go.

"This is it..." he whispered. This what everything's been building up too."

"I never thought our enemy would ever have the nerve to attack US, of all Digimon," Lilithmon snarled.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "We're going to defeat his army and Serena will finally purge our world of this virus."

She smiled at him, "Ever the optimist."

He kissed her softly, "Be safe," he said as he dived out of the window and went to join the battlefield.

...

_The Human World_

Serena and Beelzemon ran out into the deserted town, feeling the air tingle with a warm discharge of power, somewhere there was a portal opening. He was coming, Darknessmon was crossing over the barrier and finally Serena could end him. No mercy, only justice.

Across town, in the apartment, Strikedramon the ripple of energy also. Her wounds were still healing, but they weren't going to stop her. She opened the window, poking her head out to get a better view of the town. She couldn't see anything unusual; the only thing amiss was the energy signature.

"He's coming," she thought aloud. "Will his human army wait for him to give the word, or will they attack?"

Strikedramon knew well her master's plans, she knew of the human army and of the Digimon army, she knew of all Seven Dragons. But she didn't know what came next, Darknessmon was never entirely open on everything, he never told her what he planned on doing on with his human army.

She assumed he would only give the word when he had taken care of Serena and the others, then with his major priorities out of the way he would begin his domination of the world. She climbed out of the window, hesitantly hovering on the warm air, and took off in search of Yamaki.

Darknessmon stepped out from the electrical tear in reality, LadyDevimon at his side. His original plan dictated for Gatomon to stay where she was, to command the troops in the Digital World, but he needed her at his side. Someone needed to keep Beelzemon distracted.

"How long will the portal hold for?" he asked.

"Long enough," she answered. "It should stay open for a few hours, long enough for our men to cross over once they handle the Royal Knights and Demon Lords."

"Excellent," he purred. "Now..." he looked over the buildings of the town, across the roofs to the two figures that hovered on the air. Serena, my dear, how long I've waited for this!"

Serena growled at him, her hands digging into Beelzemon's wrist. He hated having her carry him, but what could he do without his wings? Darknessmon and LadyDevimon walked to the edge of the roof and over it, falling to the ground, Serena took them down and she had her first proper look at the man who had twisted her life.

There was something unsettling about the sight before her, the LadyDevimon at the side of the armoured Dragon, like her past and present had somehow crossed over. Darknessmon took a step forwards, Beelzemon whipped out his gun and Darknessmon froze.

"Another step," he warned, "an' this ends 'ere."

"Then end it," Darknessmon goaded. "End it; put us all out of our misery."

"It's not my job to kill ya," Beelzemon smirked.

Serena charged towards him, he barely managed to raise his sword. Her blade clashed with his hungry sword, he grunted, feeling his blade tremble beneath hers. He swiped at her head; Serena ducked low and swung her staff across his head. His head rattled against his helmet, a high-pitched sound reverberating across his skull.

He stumbled back, hissing. "You could have digivolved into anything!" he snarled. "Why not a Murmukusmon? Why Darcmon?"

"I am not evil!" she snapped. "My form represents who I am."

"I see," he sighed, then said to LadyDevimon, "Lady, if you would, take care of the Demon Lord."

She bowed obediently.

She charged towards Beelzemon, firing several shots of dark energy. Beelzemon dived aside, returning fire. Serena watched them until they disappeared out of sight, and then returned her attention to Darknessmon, who had sheathed his sword and placed his hands on his helmet.

"With them out of the way I can finally be alone with you," he smiled. "And I promised myself I would answer one of your questions, though I know what it is."

Serena frowned at him, but decided to ask her question anyway. "Who are you?" she asked.

He undid a strap on his helmet and wrestled it off his head, holding the helmet beneath the crook of his arm. He had a broad face, with spiky blonde hair, dark green eyes and deadly pale skin, and there was something unnervingly familiar about him.

The way he smiled, the way he carried himself, Serena felt an queasy sensation of deja vu. He smiled icily, dropping the helmet and took a step forwards.

"You still don't recognize me?" he said. "C'mon Serena, think hard."

"I..." she shook her head. "You look like... like Yumiko."

He just smiled.

"But that's impossible!" she cried. "I kill Yumiko, I-"

"Yes, you killed her," he said. "But you didn't absorb her data, it was free to wander the plains until it reassembled itself into a new form - me. Admittedly, I never expected I would be reborn as a man, but it all worked out."

"So I have to kill you again?" she frowned. "Fine."

"Wait, Serena, please," he said. "We don't have to fight, you can rule the worlds alongside me!"

"I told you before," she charged. "I will never join you!"

Their blades clashed, and the fate of both worlds rested on Serena's shoulders.

...

_The Digital World_

Duftmon slashed out at the growing mass around him, the oppressing force never seeming to dwindle. He glanced around at his fellow Knights, Crusadermon kicking aside all those who came close. BlackDuftmon and a few others had taken Alphamon back to base, or what was left of it, and they were yet to return.

His back connected with Crusadermon, the two of them against a hundred or so.

"Where are our heavy hitters?" Duftmon gasped.

"They were sent to other territories," Crusadermon replied. "Why do you ask? Afraid you can't handle these lot?"

Duftmon smirked, "Only worried about you," he remarked. "Wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Crusadermon laughed.

Somewhere in the crowd there came a noise, a loud cry as bodies were suddenly thrown into the air. Energy appeared in the air, thick streams of yellow electricity. Duftmon and Crusadermon watched wordlessly as the crowd began to thin, and as a Digimon cut through the crowd.

"Magnamon?" Duftmon gasped. "How the hell..."

"Darknessmon has two portals open," Magnamon quickly explained. "One for him to cross and one for these guys, I saw the portals and decided to cross over."

"Oh, Magnamon, you have been missed!" Crusadermon cried.

"We'll hug later," Magnamon said. "Right now, we take care of these ass holes."

"I couldn't have put it better!" Duftmon laughed, as the three of them charged into the crowd.

...

_The Human World_

Serena over-stepped the fallen helmet, her arm tingling from the sensation of the blade striking her own. She pushed back, bearing down with her blade and swinging wildly with her staff, and it was working. Darknessmon was losing a bit of his footing every moment, barely dodging blows.

He didn't want to hurt her, despite the anger he felt he still wanted Serena at his side. She took advantage of his attitude. Serena focused hard, but she couldn't escape the fact she was facing off against the same opponent. It was different, both in appearance and ability.

They weren't soaring up to the heavens to deal a final blow, they weren't sisters. They were trading swipes and jabs, armour against steel, brother against sister. He was different, a warrior, a solider. Yumiko was a leader, she led her men and commanded from afar.

But Darknessmon was different, he had left his men behind to begin the assault. He wanted to be the first to taste the sweet nectar of victory, then when his blade had tasted blood he would allow the others to cross over and the Earth would finally be his.

Serena's blade dug into the space between flesh and metal, he hissed in pain, and she twisted the blade. He cried out and pulled away, he snarled and his lips pulled up over his teeth. He charged, swinging his blade wide, Serena curved her body to the side.

Darknessmon quickly spun on his heels and twisted his body, matching her curve, and swung the blade again. Serena failed to block, and the blade cut across her chest in a flash of red. She gasped in pain, spitting up blood. He grabbed her by the collar, head-butting her.

Serena staggered back, he caught her ankles and she fell. He jumped on her, pinning his one arm against her throat while the other grabbed her skinny wrists, and pinned them above her head. She spat blood in his face.

"Enough of that," he teased. "I'd rather not too something regretful."

"You pathetic little man," she hissed. "Will you ever learn from your mistakes?"

He frowned.

"I will never join you," Serena snarled. "I will never betray my friends and I will never leave Beelzemon! You got it?"

Darknessmon was silent.

Serena struggled beneath him, but his grip was like steel. She couldn t lift her head either, which lift only one option. She brought her knee up and hit him in the metal plate between his legs, he swore as the metal reverberated and hit him in his digital jewels.

Serena pulled her arms away from him, punching him across the jaw and kicked him off. Serena rolled away from him, grabbing her sword. He scrambled to his hands and knees, she pressed the blade to his throat and he froze. Darknessmon stared down at the blade, then darkly looked up to her.

"Is this it?" he said. "Is this how it ends? All this build-up, this planning, and you're going to cut my head off?"

"No," she said. "I'm going to stab you in the heart and let you bleed out."

"You kill me and I'll just get reborn as another Digimon," he smirked.

_"Not here, you won't."_

"What?" he said.

"You're in the Human World," she reminded him. "And whether you like it or not, you are half human. So what happens when we enter another world?"

He went cold as realization struck, "I... I become... human."

"That's right," she smirked. "You're going to die a human and you're never going to live in your utopia."

"You'll never stop me!" he roared. "My army will destroy you all, they'll-"

"Do nothin'," snarled a voice.

Beelzemon appeared behind Darknessmon, a few cuts and marks, and emitting the energy of a Digimon who had been victorious. LadyDevimon was dead, she was the only one who could give the order for his Digimon army to cross over, and until they crossed over and took over the town then his human army couldn't make a move.

It was over.

"Is she dead?" Serena asked Beelzemon.

He nodded, "An' I absorbed her," he replied. "There's no way she's comin' back."

"Then there's only him to take care of," Serena said.

They turned to Darknessmon, and found him peeling off his armour, throwing the heavy pieces aside as tears spilled down his face. He spread his arms, torso bare, and presented himself to the victors.

"I know when I'm beat," he cried. "I tried and I failed... there's nothing else for me."

Serena picked up her staff and returned it to its sheath, she held her sword carefully, positioning it just above his heart. He was going to die, slowly, and suffer as he died in the world he so hated. Beelzemon grabbed her hand, surprising her with his soothing touch.

"Yer sure ya want to do this?" he asked. "I can do it, if yer want..."

"No," she said. "It's my duty, my responsibility, I have to end this."

"... Alright then," he released her hand.

Serena took a step forwards, pushing the tip of the blade against his chest. Darknessmon didn't look at her, he only looked at the blade, his face dark and lifeless, like someone who had finally realized death had caught up with him, and wasn't going to let him go.

Serena pulled the sword back, and with a silent pray, and drove it straight into his chest. He went stiff, coughing out blood, his body going cold. Serena pulled the blade away, droplets of red squirting out of the wound. He fell onto his back, strength leaving him as he began to convulse and wheeze in pain.

He stared at the sky, feeling a pool of scarlet form around him. He smiled bitterly at the sight of his oblivion, muttering "I hate this world," as the darkness came up around him, and he was gone.

_To Be Concluded..._


	19. Heaven is a Place in the Digital World

**Episode 19 **

**Heaven is a Place in the Digital World**

_A Month Later_

Serena set aside the bucket of paint, staring proudly at the new layer of paint she had applied to her home. It had taken some fixing, after being destroyed and suffering months of neglect, it had taken the help of everyone to fix up the Japanese house in the woods.

Finally it was as good as new, a new layer of paint, a new interior of wood and rice paper doors, new beds and cupboards. It was almost as if she had never been dragged from all of this. She pulled off the paint-stained overalls, removing her the bobble from her hair.

"Bee," she called. "You finished in there?"

"Just... 'bout done!" he replied from the living room.

He emerged a moment later, wheezing, "Teh TV's heavy," he said.

Serena smiled at him.

Darknessmon had been put in an unmarked grave, just below the tree where the old tree house stood, and Serena and her family returned to the Digital World. It had been difficult for Yamaki and the two she-Digimon to stand on the side-lines, but they had never doubted Serena's ability.

Serena wanted to wish her family and friends farewell, but the portal was weak, and they wasted enough time burying the bastard. They emerged on a battlefield, where Magnamon, Crusadermon and Duftmon stood triumphant amongst the bodies of fallen Digimon.

From there things became a little complicated.

Though Alphamon and Lucemon were alive and safe, there was no escaping the fact that on several battlefields Demon Lords and Royal Knights had united to fight the enemy, because of Serena they had again been joined together, but not even she could make the bonds permanent.

They returned to their bitter feud, and Serena was welcomed back openly. Crusadermon hugged her until she turned purple, commenting on her new appearance, saying how much he had missed his little sister. BlackDuftmon was just as pleased to see Magnamon, she jumped on him and wouldn't release him until he stopped breathing.

Alphamon began repairs on the Assembly and after hearing of Strikedramon's switching of sides, offered her immunity of her crimes as long as she confessed to everything. With Serena's true form revealed, Lucemon had denied her a place in the Demon Lords, but that hardly stopped Beelzemon and Lilithmon from visiting her.

Magnamon returned to work; Serena had barely seen him in the last month, besides the time he and the others came to help. She knew they were all coming over that night for a celebratory meal, it was why she wanted everything looking nice, and with the wiring worked in they had a bit of television to enjoy too.

She entered the living room, admiring the work that had been done.

"It looks good, Bee," she said.

"Thanks," he fell down besides the table. "Man, I'm beat."

She sat down beside him, "You can have extra sak tonight," she offered.

"For all my hard work?" he smiled.

"For being a great guy," she teased.

The door slid open and Yamaki and Strikedramon entered, Serena had noticed they had been spending an awful lot of time together, she tried not to think about it. Instead, she noticed the bags they were carrying, heavy duffel bags, made for travel.

"Hey there," she greeted. "You ready for tonight?"

"Actually, honey, that's what we need to talk about," Yamaki said.

"... What's wrong?" she asked.

Yamaki and Strikedramon took a seat, and Yamaki took his daughter's hands.

"This thing with Darknessmon isn't over yet," he said. "We still have to find out how he was communicating with his human forces and order them to stand down."

"So we're going to find his base and finally sever his connection," Strikedramon added. "He lived in the Ice Realm, so its going to take some time before we reach it, and even then I doubt we'll find his technology."

Serena was silent for a moment, staring down at the table with a blank expression, a moment passed and she smiled. "Do what you have to," she said. "And when you come back I'll have a meal waiting."

Yamaki and Strikedramon stayed for an hour, and then left before it got dark. Serena began preparing drinks and snacks and her friends came over just as day switched to night. It took her a moment to adjust to having all her friends around, to being back with those she loved, but soon she forgot all about Darknessmon.

Magnamon got to his feet and tapped his glass, silence fell over the group. "I thought I'd make a toast," he said. "A lot has happened over these past few years, more so in these months, it's a good time to reflect on what's happened."

Beelzemon smirked and finished off his drink, then poured himself another.

"We've been in fights," Magnamon chuckled. "A_ lot_ of fights, but we've made a lot of interesting friends too -" he nodded towards Lilithmon, she smiled. "- and none of this would have happened if not for you, Seren. You came into our lives and nothing's been the same, and it s all been for the better. Now, with Darknessmon gone, we can look to the future!"

He raised his glass and they followed suit, cheering as the soft _tink_ of glasses was met with the cry of_ 'To the future!'_

_The End_

_...  
_

_This was a **really** short conclusion and I apologize if it wasn't a very satisfying ending, but I felt there was nothing left to say. Serena is happy, she has returned to the life she so enjoyed and can look to the future. And now, thank you to all of you who've read and reviewed. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it._


End file.
